#this ongoing divorce is the best part of my week

[murasaki-cha]

It devolved again!

[venussaidso]

Vedic Astrology Observation (based on shows/films part 5-(½))

In "The Atypical Family", the Anuradha Moon male lead plays a character whose ego is centered around saviourism. He suffers from an obsessive saviour complex which ends up deteriorating his mental health and his family life. The loss of his wife is what leads him to absolute despair and hopelessness, as he desperately tries to go back to her in time to save her. The element of time-traveling/warping reality, the element of saviourism, the element of family love/romantic love is so deeply Anuradha-coded. This character is the perfect representation of Anuradha in its dark side, in my opinion. Scorpio's obsessiveness is so perfectly seen here, along with his addiction issues & alcoholism. This nakshatra's themes being about love and unity/family is seen in the kdrama but in a dysfunctional way.

The female lead is played by an Ashwini Sun. I've once briefly brushed on Anuradhas often being paired with Ashwinis. In this story, the Ketuvian is a scammer who plans on making his family penniless, she plans on doing this through marrying him which actually proves to be challenging as the Anuradha is stuck on his past (his fixedness ♏ makes him different from her previous male targets who she scammed too).

This goes back to Ketu's "gold digger" trope which Claire Nakti coined first in her Jupiter Dominant Men exploration (timestamp 43:10). This trope does make sense in that Ketu is a whole void which sucks/absorbs everything in, it can be quite draining in the material world. Which would also make sense thinking of Ketu-coded characters as a black hole themselves in the material world in which they may relentlessly exploit (the best example of this is the film "There Will Be Blood" in which the morally-grey male lead exploits and steals a family's land in order to extract oil). The female lead of this kdrama actually reminds me of the film "Heartbreakers" which stars two Ketu natives, playing mother-&-daughter, whose goal is to extract alimony from the men they've married through judicial divorce hearings. They basically scam men and leave them penniless.

In the kdrama, the female lead's "mother" is also behind the scam, just like in "Heartbreakers", and the mother happens to be played by a Ketuvian actor as well! Yall nakshatra astrology NEVER fails.

The drama is still ongoing as it will air every Saturday & Sunday for the next 4 weeks so I'm curious how the story will develop as it's still in the early stages 😭 Might make a continuation of this 'analysis' (meh) as I've barely said much.

[aboutcustardcreams]

People Help the People

Still grieving cause I finished watching another amazing series "Broadchurch" and this is my way to cope. Writing! I hope this is a healthy mechanism cause it's the only thing I do. Always. No kidding. Hope there aren't many typos or mistakes, because guess what? I didn't reread :3

Summary: Sometimes it's nice to be reminded by those you love how much you mean to them. Beth Latimer is natural at that. /Set somewhere in season three/

word count: 3800 ish

When Chloe picked up her phone, you glanced at her with the corner of your eye. As ‘dad’ slipped from her lips, the episode you two were so carefully watching turned unimportant, so you paused it. 

It was no secret that Chloe was particularly tethered to Mark, all things considered. It had been incredibly painful for her to see her parents drafting apart, filing the divorce’s papers and taking different paths. Beth with you and Mark… well, by himself, wandering here and there, searching for who knows what. 

You met Beth some months after the trial; she and Mark were already in crisis by then. Their marriage, you learned, broke long before Joe Miller took their son’s life, but they only admitted it to themselves after the tragedy fell upon them, too busy mourning their son. With everything going on, to talk about their marriage going south didn’t seem right, nor as important as dealing with a pain so colossal as the loss of a child, by hand of a friend, no less. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine here,” she responds lightly, but honestly. “Mom’s reading a bedtime story to Lizzie and I’m watching a movie,” she briefly glanced up at you, a tight smile curving her lips, “Yeah. With her.” 

You froze, suddenly feeling uneasy. You couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but you got the feeling that Mark probably asked if you were near her. Her daughter. Not yours. As if he wouldn’t know. Where else would you be anyway, considering you lived there now? You never fully grasped what his opinion of you was. If he hated you, envied you or tolerated you.

You leaned back against the couch, and forced yourself to push aside those voices in your head, still accusing you of living in someone else's nest.  

It’s been a few days since the last time Mark dropped in to say hello. Weeks, maybe. Maybe he passed by when you weren’t there, or met up with the girls somewhere else. Beth would tell you if she met him in the street, but she didn’t. You knew it was difficult for him to show up and be a dad, despite everything. 

“So late at night?” Chloe’s voice takes you from your thoughts, “Are you far? Maybe I could–” 

You tried to think of the reasons why Mark would call Chloe at this time of the evening. You could think of nothing immediate. You turned towards the teenager again, gwaning at your lip, as you spotted Chloe’s side profile crunched up in concern. Features dimming a bit. Only a moment ago, she had another light in her eyes, she was smiling and commenting on the movie as the two of you watched it. She cared for you, liked you, maybe loved you. On your part, there were no doubts whatsoever, you loved Chloe and Lizzie as if they were yours.

Before meeting you, Beth had nobody to talk to. It took her some time to let you in, trust you, as it should have been, all things considered. But when she did, your life opened up to a myriad of possibilities. To be able to enter her world had been the best gift you could ever wish for. She found a friend in you, a trustworthy one. You gave her a sense of stability she was so desperately looking for. And then, it all blossomed into love. Before finding you, everything revolved around Mark and his grief. Sometimes it still feels that way. He made Danny’s death all about him, and that behavior caused great damage to the Latimer’s family that eventually fell apart for good. Beth was the one who suffered the most, in your opinion. Because she had to crowd out her ongoing pain to deal with Chloe and Mark’s. Then you came along, and made it a little easier to deal with it all. 

At first, you remember, you didn’t have the words. What was to say to a woman who lost something as important and essential as a child? For a while, you had no idea how to help her. So you did the only thing you could do, be there, be present. Listen to her cries and outbursts, hold her with the promise to never ever leave her side. That’s when she started to heal, to feel better, to smile more, to act like she was alive again. 

“No, I know, I’m just worried,” Chloe’s hand reached out to yours, probably having noticed the nervous drumming of your fingertips over the fabric of the couch. You met her eyes then, and she gave you a soft smile, when you gently intertwined your fingers together. 

“I miss you too, dad,” she trails off, and you feel your chest tighten a bit, “do you think we can meet up soon? Maybe we can have lunch together, here at home? Lizzie would love that and–” 

You winced when her hopeful tone turned into a discouraged one, “Oh, yeah right. I get it,” her attempt at pretending to be alright by whatever he told her didn’t convince you for a second. 

It doesn’t take a genie to understand he let her down. Again. Why was it so hard to show up and be there for his daughters? It enraged you, his behavior. 

When Chloe withdraws her hand from your grasp, you’re sure to feel your heart creaking slightly. Her jaw tightens as she nods wordlessly, only briefly throwing you a look, whose meaning turned out to be quite a mystery. Until it didn’t. 

“Oh,” you breathed out, blinking  repeatedly. You mouthed a small ‘sorry’ before getting up from the couch, later motioning to her you’d go outside for a breath of fresh air, acting as if being indirectly told to leave didn’t hurt you. Get a grip on yourself, and woman up. You gave her one last tight smile, and then reached up to the front door, stepped outside only to sit down at the entrance, on the stairs. Flopping down, you raked your fingers through your hair, ruffling it a bit. 

You looked up at the sky, a pout soon forming on your face. No stars. You were hoping to see the stars. 

You find yourself thinking about a lot of things. Your life with Beth. Your relationship with Chloe and Lizzie. And the highly questionable behavior of Mark. After four years, he still struggled to move on. Never tried to, perhaps. A part of you thought Mark died with Danny that day, becoming the ghost of the man he used to be. Only an empty shell, unable to find any form of comfort, not even in the eyes of his daughters. 

Beth, somehow, succeeded where Mark failed. That woman never failed to surprise you. Beth was the strongest person you’ve ever met in your entire life, she even helped other people now, as sexual assault crisis worker. When you thought she couldn’t surprise you more, she showed up one day telling you about her new job, with so much excitement flashing in her eyes. You were so proud of her. So immensely grateful to have crossed paths with her. Beth had been able to convert her ongoing pain into something noble and useful to the community, despite that same community letting her down when it came to getting justice for her son.

A single tear slipped down your cheek, at the thought. You’re quick to wipe it away, when you hear the front door creaking open again. 

A smile crept on your features, when you feel the warmth of a familiar jacket fall upon your shoulders. Of course it would be hers. She knows how you love her clothes. Her scent filled your nostrils right away, and you can’t help but inhale deeply to have more of it. “Chloe told me you were here,” she stroked your head, and you glanced up at her, finally meeting her eyes. 

You hummed, “looks like you found me,” you teased softly.

“What are you doing here?”, she crouched down by your side, her thighs touching yours as she does. 

You cling to the jacket, and take in a small sigh, before replying, “Chloe was on the phone, I thought I’d give her some privacy. Is she still-”

Beth shakes her head, predicting your question. You hummed, a tight smile graced upon your lips. A part of you wanted to ask if she was alright, but you asked something different, instead. “Lizzie is asleep?”

Beth nodded with a smile. She later scooped you a bit closer, draping an arm over your hip. “Yeah, she wants you to know that you’re way better than me at doing the voice of Mr. Penguin,” her attempts at sounding annoyed aren’t convincing in the slightest. When you looked up at her, you spotted the veil of amusement flashing in her eyes, making you chuckle. 

“Aahw, is that so?” You leaned further to kiss that adorable pout of hers. It was true, you were good; the only problem was that Lizzie hardly ever fell asleep when it was you narrating the stories, because of the energy and the poignancy you used. Story time with you became a real playtime. That’s why you three made a deal, you’d be the one reading the adventures of Mr. Penguin on the weekends, when there was no school the day after. 

Beth gently squeezed your hip, “Don’t be smug now,” she teased, and you chuckled against her mouth, “I can teach you how to be more convincing for the next time. Mr. Penguin has a specific accent, you know,” you teased, eyebrows shooting up in a cheeky way. She hummed, before pressing her lips against your hairline, offering you a sweet cuddle. 

When she pulled away, she said, “You know, you didn’t need to leave the house to give Chlo some privacy earlier.” 

You hesitated, looking down on your lap. “I didn’t leave the house,” you explained. “I’m on the porch, am I not?” 

“Still,” she insisted, gesturing to where you were sitting. You sighed and rolled your shoulders, probably in the attempt to downplay the topic, but Beth was having none of that. She clasped your chin and gently lifted it so that you’d meet her eyes. Your heart can’t help but beat faster. 

“Why are you here, really?” Her sweetness turns you into a puddle. 

“No reason, Beth…”, you insisted uneasily. 

With her hazel eyes squinted, she muttered “Liar,” to you. “You should know better than to do that to me.” 

You laughed slightly, merely shaking your head at her ways. “Beth,” you started meekly, “I simply thought that Chlo needed a moment of privacy,” it wasn’t a lie, it just simply wasn’t the whole truth. “It felt like she couldn’t talk freely to Mark with me sitting so close.”

She cleared her throat, nodding in understanding. “So it was because of him?”

“Not because of him,” you objected, sounding almost childish. 

She giggled. “Hey, I know, alright? I’m just teasing you. Will you stop worrying so much? Don’t act like you don’t belong in this house.”

Confusion flashed across your face. “How exactly am I doing that?”

She raised an eyebrow, looking at you as if it was kind of obvious, “By sitting on the porch because Chloe was on the phone.”

You shyly ducked your head, a little smile tugging at your lips, “you mean your property stops at the doorway? What about this beautiful garden over here?” 

“First of all it’s our property, not just mine” she sounded almost offended by your assumption. You giggled, a wave of warmth flashed through your heart and lit up your eyes once again. She had superpowers, Beth Latimer. She couldn’t be a common human being, because of how extraordinary she was. “You belong here. By my side, with Chloe and Lizzie,” she brushed her hand over your cheek, before brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “Don’t you ever doubt that for a moment, please.”

“I never do,” you respond, fondly. “It’s just– I just wish things between Chloe and Mark were different. Better. All she wants is her dad close and he– it seems to me he doesn’t care enough. Which is ridiculous, and cruel,” you know you’ve started rambling the moment your hands go flying here and there to give emphasis to your speech. “I know it’s not my place to judge, and I’m sorry if I do. I should probably shut my mouth, so if I’m crossing  a line, feel free to slap me, but Jesus, he enrages me!” 

The light in Beth’s eyes slowly dimmed, not because of your opinion of Mark, but at the realization of all the things you were only now allowing yourself to voice out loud. You were always so calm, so composed, probably for the sake of the family. She had been like that so she knew what it felt like. So she lets you continue, despite wanting nothing more than cupping your cheeks and kissing all your worries away. 

“I can’t stand it when he keeps letting her down. I see how it hurts her. How can he not notice? And Lizzie, gosh, she is still young, but someday she will ask questions about why her dad is hardly ever and then guess what? You’re gonna be the one picking up the pieces, again, and it’s not fair. It’s just not fair, Beth,” you stopped abruptly, feeling short of breath. 

Beth’s hand is still on your face. “Hey, it’s okay, trust me, I know. And it’s perfectly normal for you to feel that way, and you know why?” You looked up at her, frowning confusedly. She, on the other hand, gave you the calmest, most genuine smile to ever exist. How did she have an answer for everything? “Because you’re the closest thing to a parent for the girls. You feel responsible for them, you care for them in a way that– I swear, it moves me like nothing else. When something goes wrong, you’re there for them, you help them out, you make them laugh. It’s not just me. You pick up the pieces as much as I do and you don’t even see it.” 

“But—“ you still try to object meekly. 

Her response is categorical, yet there is fondness in her voice. “No buts.” 

For a second you just sit there awkwardly, looking adorably conflicted in Beth’s eyes. Then she chuckles, and despite the sound of it, there’s something sad flashing in her eyes. “Listen to me very carefully. I felt so lonely, for a really long time. Even before all that happened with Danny. But then I met you,” she paused, voice filling with raw and vivid emotion. “And I just— you showed me what it means to be seen, to be alive, and feel like a teenager in love who’s afraid of nothing and enthusiastic at everything.” A single tear wets your cheek; you don’t even notice, not until her thumb brushes against your skin. “You gave me another chance at falling in love and, my dear, how I love being in love with you,” her smile wobbled, and you felt your heart flutter in your chest. Butterflies tickling your stomach, up to your throat. 

You have so many things to tell her, yet nothing could ever top her speech, or match your feelings. “Beth, I–” How to describe a love so colossal as yours with only a lifetime at your disposal? She looked at you as if she knew, though. “I love you. I love you so, so much,” you leaned closer to her, adhering your forehead against hers, delicately brushing the tip of her nose with yours. “You’re everything to me, and the girls, you’re right– they feel like mine, egotistically speaking.” She smiled amusedly at that, slightly shaking her head, “They are yours,” she assures.

You hummed, in thought. “I just wish I could do more for you and Chloe, but sometimes all I feel is this sense of worthlessness inside.” 

Beth’s brows furrowed almost painfully, “which is ridiculous,” she placed a hand upon your chest, gently pulling away so that she could see your eyes better, and get these crazy ideas out of your system, somehow. “The girls adore you, you hear me? I do. So much my heart could burst any moment for all the love I feel for you.” She is so cute when she is all flustered. Once again, you find her fingertips raking through your hair, to better expose your face, the face of the woman she couldn’t do without. “You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met, so please, treat yourself with kindness, or else…” 

You gasped, when leaning closer, Beth nibbled on your skin instead of kissing your cheek like you had expected, “Oi! You bit me!”

She grinned, eyebrows shooting up amusedly, “you deserved that.”

“Maybe I did,” you conceded, sweeping your tongue over your lips. She caught the movement with her eyes, and her mouth suddenly went dry. 

“Kiss me, Beth.” You were sure that the sky was devoid of any stars that night, and yet, you could bet to see a constellation in her hazel eyes as soon as you came with that whispered request. A smile creeps up to her face, those cute little wrinkles in the corner of her eyes widen, making her look even more beautiful. 

She drew closer, holding onto your jacket, her jacket, her lips parting but still not touching yours, “ask me again,” her teasings are so deliciously irresistible. 

You moaned, the sound though is destined to muffle in her mouth, and you can’t wait. “Kiss me, Beth. Please, just kiss me.” 

She clings to you in a way that makes you feel all warm inside. She is gentle, yet there’s a side of her that’s also possessive and needy. And that turns you on so much. The thought of her needing you as much as you needed her darkened your eyes and you couldn’t help that. 

She chased your lips, hands tangling in your hair, and breaths coming short and uneven within seconds. 

You were wrong before to think there were no stars that night. Suddenly your vision was filled with them. Luminous, unreal tiny dots everywhere. Shining bright into her eyes, her smile, echoing in the sound of her lips popping and crashing against yours.

“You shine so bright, Beth,” At your confession, she whimpers, head gets lighter, to the point that she feels like floating. To keep balance, she pulls you even closer, holding on to you for dear life. She pushes her tongue past your lips, crashes against yours, fights for dominance. She takes all the oxygen and you’re more than happy to end up breathless for her. 

Her voice sends you a tingle, “If I shine, I do it for you,” her hands slide to your middle, guiding you to crawl on top of her. As she says that, the kiss deepens even more and you giggle, both for what she just said, and by the tip of her tongue expertly lapping at the inside of your mouth. 

Her back gently leans against the doorframe as you lie on top of her as she asked. After that, a silly idea comes up to your mind so you lift your jacket over your heads, creating a little love nest. 

“We look like two crazy teenagers,” Beth stifled a laugh. 

You nodded your head, pecking at her nose. “Imagine if Chloe saw us. Busted by your daughter,” she chuckled again and started playing with the tips of your hair. 

“Well, I think she would sue us to the police for having traumatized her,” the way she said that, so seriously, and without the slightest doubt causes both your eyes and mouth to part open in horror. 

When Beth bursts into a fit of giggles, you realize she was just teasing you. What a pushover you are. What a tease she is.

“Ha, ha! Very funny, Beth,” you said sarcastically. 

“You have to admit it is,” she trailed off, cheekily. 

Before you can reply to that, the front door swings open, causing Beth to slide rearward, and with you still on top of her, her hands tightened around your middle on instinct as the two of you squealed.

“What are you two— oh. Oh!” Chloe’s voice is filled with amusement as she puts two and two together. “On the porch, mom? Really?” 

“It wasn’t like–!” You objected, heat rushing to your cheeks. Then you freeze, while Beth’s heart fills with such tenderness, in the fact of what has just happened. Her mouth parts ajar, the corners slightly up. 

You looked at her, utterly in awe. Then at Chloe. Slowly, almost mechanically. She spoke to you. Not Beth. It was you who called mom.

Beth can’t help the tears pricking at her eyes. 

You realize Beth can’t really get up, not before you do it first. You blink repeatedly, still feeling all flustered and confused by everything that just happened within minutes, before clumsily pulling yourself up, and then helping Beth on her feet as well. 

You need to be sure, so you ask Chloe, “did you call me—?”

Chuckling nervously, she stutters out, “Mom, yeah. Uhm... sorry, it came out so naturally. If you don’t want me to–” 

You’re quick to interject, seeing where this is going, “Oh no, no, no. No, I do,” your voice rises several octaves all of the sudden. Chloe hardly stifles a laugh at your demeanor, while Beth’s hand finds yours and laces your fingers together, in reassurance. You cleared your throat then, “if it feels right to you, so it does to me.” 

“Really? Cool,” a wave of sudden embarrassment colored her pale cheeks, but that didn’t prevent her from smiling at you. “We still have fifteen minutes till the end of the episode, so whenever you two are ready–” she grinned, before vanishing into the house again. 

You’ve never felt so lightheaded before. Of a good kind, obviously. 

“Did that actually happen?”

“Sure sounds like it,” echoed Beth, with a grin, before pressing a soft, chaste kiss above your lips. She leans into you, as you walk inside again. Heart lighter and happier. With her fingers still curled with yours, your thumb traces slow patterns over the back of her hand. 

“What were you watching?” She asks, pulling you on her lap as she flops down the couch next to Chloe, who grabbed the remote. 

“Ah you know–” you mused, “There’s this guy, really cool, thick eyebrows, good heart, who travels through space and time in a police box.”

Beth laughs lightly, “that sounds silly. What’s his name?”

Chloe scolds her softly, “It’s not silly, it’s sci-fi, mom.” 

“Name’s Doctor, by the way,” you grinned from ear to ear, impatiently waiting for her to say the next words. 

Both you and Chloe exchange a knowing glance before bursting out laughing at Beth’s confused frown and question, “Doctor who?”

[sofi1sstuff]

✨Stephen Strange recommendations✨

Ongoing

✨paper hearts (by @classickook​): following the events of multiverse of madness, you’ve given up hope that stephen would ever love you back. but what if his feelings for you change… will you give him a chance, or has your heart moved on?

Series masterlist

✨Save me, Save you (by @angstsfordays​): Your fights mostly belonged on the grounds while he worked mostly in the mystic and cosmic realms. Even though you both fought together in the infinity war to stop Thanos, you and Stephen Strange hardly ever interacted with one another. It only took one incidental misunderstanding between the two of you to bring both of you closer than ever. For two people who do not believe that they could find love, all we can say is that love finds you unexpectedly.

Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven |

✨ 2319 (by @brunchable​): In the midst of your divorce with your husband, you left your 13-year-old daughter in the care of your mother while you attend your art exhibition in Paris. What Sasha thought would be a boring Summer Vacation takes a turn when she finds your old diaries and learns new things about her mother that she avoided talking about or kept secret.

Series masterlist

✨

Completed (series/miniseries)

✨The Love Hypothesis (by @mischiefmanaged71​)

Series masterlist

✨Can’t compare (by @girl-of-many-fandoms​): Nobody likes being anyone's second choice.

Part 1 | Part 2

✨All I ask (by @brunchable​)

Part1 | Part2 | Part3

One Shots/Drabbles/ Prompts

✨Suit & Tie (by @wint3r-h3art): A lovers�� quarrel turned into something quite (un)expected.

✨It’s You, It’s always Been you (by @wint3r-h3art): It’s a known fact that you are in love with Stephen Strange. It’s also a known fact that Stephen Strange is still in love with Dr. Palmer. When Stephen asked you to be his wedding date though, you’re starting to regret your decision. A confession from the doctor himself, changes everything.

✨"I don't get jealous." (by @girl-of-many-fandoms): In order to get the job done a little flirting is necessary.

✨Your usual (by @westviewism): Ever since meeting at the avengers compound, stephen has taken a liking to getting your morning coffee.

✨Uncle Stephen (by @writingliv): The reader has a sister, and she has a child and asks if they can take care of her baby for two weeks, Stephen is not happy about it, but everything changes when after some time the child hugs Stephen and calls him "uncle"

✨Be Alright (by @lykaonimagines​): Y/N and Stephen run into one another for the first time in years at Christine’s wedding. She’d thought her crush for the man had faded over the years, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

✨Just As Important (by @lykaonimagines​): Stephen and Y/N have been dating in secret for awhile, but when one of the nurses seems to deliberately be making her life harder, he has to step in.

✨dream a little, dream of me (by @starks-hero​): You're met with the realisation that in order to save the world you'll have to lose your own.

✨Unexpected (by @celestialnxva​): The Avengers never thought in a million years that anyone would put up with Stephen Strange, so naturally they’ll want answers as to why you happened to be his partner.

✨worlds best dad (by @strange-mischief​): Stephen Strange’s daughter has her first day of 3rd grade and the last thing he counted on was meeting you. 

✨Perfect Fit (by @asongofmarvelanddc​): Stephen wants to spend the morning in bed.

✨Goodnight My Love (by @getlostsquidward​): Aside from a universe where he has a ponytail, Stephen stumbles on one where he had something that not once did he imagine having.

✨Two Of You (by @lykaonimagines​): After months of living in the Sanctum, when America thinks Stephen and Y/N are going to ask her to leave, she starts doing everything she can think of to convince them to let her stay.

✨His Universe (by @bakerstreethound​): After years of wishing, longing, and waiting Stephen almost gave up on the notion of finding his soulmate...that was until you appeared in his life and changed everything. 

✨Karaoke Night (by @annesthaeticc​):The sorcerer supreme, the master of the mystic arts, and the disciple walk in to a karaoke bar on a Saturday night, fun ensues. 

✨My Heart is Yours (by @sassenach-on-the-rocks​): Months after breaking up with your ex, your friendship with Stephen Strange has quickly blossomed. But how much more will it grow when a long-held secret comes out?

✨salvation (by @classickook​): in an alternate universe, stephen strange remains stranded in a forgotten corner of the multiverse, that is, until you came along; however, now he’s wondering if you’re truly happy with him or if you wished things had been different. 

✨The doctor’s orders (by @wint3r-h3art)

✨dazed & confused (by @boop-le-snoot)

✨You’re it (by @getlostsquidward)

✨you drew stars around my scars (by @classickook)

✨The One Thing I Need (by @lonelinessinthemirrordimension)

✨Not Going Anywhere (by @lykaonimagines)

✨You say you’re dangerous. That you destroy everything you touch. So destroy me. Ruin me. Tear me apart, and let me love you all the same. (by @dino-fart)

✨Congratulations to us (by @withalittlehoney)

✨ I'm Here, Whenever You're Ready. (by @lokidokieokie​)

✨Sleep (by @curseofaphrodite​)

✨

✨

[lil-gremlin-gal]

NaClYoHo Day 21

usual dailies (dishwasher, washed a load of laundry)

replied to emails

made ANOTHER doctor's appointment for this week to do paperwork stuff

called SIL to catch up and ask what we could get her girls for the holidays

ordered more Christmas presents and ran the numbers: almost half the shopping is done and we're on track to have everything, including gifts for each other, for under $350 CAD - I'm very proud of myself for my budget work and number crunching

called my dad to check in on him (ongoing divorce/separation has been very hard on him)

called my sister to check in on her (my dad's difficulty with the divorce/separation has been very hard on her)

finished my gorgeous rainbow tassel garland!!

10 minute tidy and journal. I'm trying out a new format/bedtime routine and it's been going really well.

And of course, forgot to clean and list the extra birdcage on marketplace. Like I have every day for the last three weeks. Oops

Tassel photo:

48 handmade tassels, 12 feet of string, $5 at the thrift store, and a couple of hours of work!

On the to do list today is:

- clean and list the birdcage (for real this time)

- go through texts and reply

- doctor's appointment by phone

- get vaccinated, yayyyyy :D

- arrange pickup for old chairs I'm giving away

My mom's own childhood issues made Christmas a really difficult holiday for her, meaning that I arranged a good part of our family Christmases each year starting at age 17. This year is going to be extra tricky with my health issues and the divorce/separation, but I'm doing my very best 💪

[polikszena]

Gossip Girl Appreciation Week 2023 - Day 6: AU Day, Part 3: Lily and Rufus football soccer AU

“I’m Lilian van der Woodsen. I’m the new coach.” “There must be a misunderstanding. The new coach is William van der Woodsen.” “He was my husband.” “Oh my God! Is he dead?” “He is to me. We’re divorced.”

A small-town, minor league football team has a chance to get the attention of some professional clubs, but after an unfortunate accident of the current coach, the team needs a new one as soon as possible. Due to a misunderstanding, they hire the unemployed PE teacher, Lily van der Woodsen, a woman to coach a men’s soccer team. The media presents this as a bold and modern move, a step towards equality, but truth to be told, not everybody is happy for this turn of events. Especially not Rufus Humphrey, the assistant coach, who thinks that he should have been hired for the job. Could he and Lily work together and do what is best for the team?

This AU is based on an ongoing Hungarian TV series called Gólkirályság (could be translated as Goal Kingdom) in which a village’s soccer team hires a female coach to help the team getting promoted to the Hungarian premier league. Of course, it’s a misunderstanding, but the club owners don’t really have another choice and nor does she, being an unemployed PE teacher with anger management issues. In the series we can see how she can find her way in this village and with the team, and also the trials and tribulations of the club owner, the village’s mayor and the team’s main sponsor: an enterpreneur with a chicken farm. 

The title comes from the word “gólkirály” (the king of goals) which is a title for the player who scored the most goals in the season. It’s similar to the Golden Boot in the Major League Soccer. I wanted to get a better translation, but in the end I decided to keep “Goal Kingdom” as the series is focusing more on the club owners’ life than the team itself. And as I was watching the latest episode, I had the idea of this AU.

[mothman-rewatches]

Rewatch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Nightmares" (S1Ep10)

Summary: Everyone’s nightmares start becoming reality when a local boy ends up in a coma. The gang must face their fears and wake him up before it’s too late.

Written by: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, Matt Kiene

Directed by: Bruce Seth Green

Aired: May 12th, 1997

WARNING: This post contains spoilers, and mentions of child abuse.

I have been super excited for this episode since beginning this watch-through. It is one of the most memorable episodes from my childhood, second only to Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Let’s jump in.

Recap: Buffy has a nightmare in which the Master kills her. That day during class, a boy opens his textbook and lets loose hundreds of tarantulas. Buffy sees a strange boy watching on. Later, a girl is brutally beaten. Giles and Buffy go visit her in the hospital, where the girl tells them she has never seen anything like her attacker. They learn this is the second victim in a week, the other being a little boy who was beaten into a coma after his little league game. Strange things begin happening -- Giles loses his ability to read and keeps getting lost in the stacks, Xander goes to class naked, and Buffy takes a surprise history test that she fails. Willow and Xander talk to Wendell, who tells them that the spiders in the textbook are one of his recurring nightmares. Buffy realizes that the boy she has been seeing is the same boy from the hospital, and the gang decides that Sunnydale must have been sucked into the same nightmare world that he is in. Buffy tries to protect the boy from his nightmare attacker, while the rest of the gang faces their fears. At the hospital, Buffy defeats the nightmare attacker, and the little boy wakes up. 

Overall Thoughts: This was such an interesting episode to watch. It’s a filler episode in the best way -- one that layers in the ongoing plotline rather than totally abandoning it for the sake of the episode. Personally, it feels like the episode balances this perfectly.

At the top of the episode, one thing that stuck out to me was the cinematography during Buffy’s nightmare. There’s a part where we see Buffy’s shadow before we see her, and the silhouette is just such a cool thing to see. It perfectly takes the idea of the trope that Buffy is based on and executes it in a single frame. 

Notably, this is the first episode to acknowledge that the Hellmouth can make strange, impossible things happen. In previous episodes, there was always something behind what was happening in the episode, and while technically yes this episode is the result of Billy’s coma, it was the Hellmouth that put things into fruition. I look forward to the show playing around with the possibilities in the future. 

Overall, the theme of the episode is fear, and facing that fear so it no longer holds power of you. It is something very profound to cover in a show about a teenage girl, but this episode holds its water. While everyone’s fears can veer on the silly side in this episode, there’s a few genuine fears that are honestly kind of heartbreaking. 

In the second half of the episode, we learn that one of Giles’s nightmares is that he will fail Buffy, resulting in her death. Adding insult to injury, Buffy rises from the dead as a vampire, one of her biggest fears. The two go hand in hand in a way, and the idea of Giles’s presumed failure amounting into Buffy’s transformation as the thing she is destined to kill is awful in the best way. 

Additionally, there’s an underlying theme that we’ve discussed a bit, but not wholly. Buffy, this season, has been focused on trying to be the normal girl she was before she became the Slayer, not solely for herself but her mother, who puts a lot of pressure on her at the beginning of the series. We find out this episode what is driving that: Buffy is afraid that she is responsible for her parents divorce. The nightmare world confirms this with a vision of Hank Summers telling Buffy he dislikes her and doesn’t want to see her again. It’s hard, knowing that, especially with the knowledge that eventually Hank leaves the picture entirely. 

Lastly, I want to make note of one particular thing that stuck with me. There’s a scene towards the very end in which Buffy has defeated Billy’s nightmare attacker, but the one who delivers the final blow is Billy. It’s something that ties directly into the narritve, facing your fears so that they no longer hold power over you. This scene, paired with the reveal that Billy’s attacker was a trusted adult -- who he’s clearly afraid of -- makes the whole thing so much more powerful. 

Fashion Corner/Costuming: While there’s nothing fashion-wise to write home about in this episode, I have to take a minute to point out that costuming put Xander in a patterned button up and plaid pants and it is atrocious. 

Characterization: We have to talk about Cordelia. I love Cordelia, I know she has potential, but I cannot stand her this season. I get that is kinda the point, but my annoyance actually comes from how one dimensional she is. There is no depth, nothing just beneath the surface, and it goes to show how much early on Cordelia was meant to only act as the “mean girl” of the series. I think Cordy being the mean girl is fine, especially knowing how she grows, but the writers make no effort to give her any real substance. 

All of Cordelia’s nightmares are vanity based, which doesn’t sit right. There should be more to her than what we have been given, and while I can’t find the right word for it, the whole thing feels…iffy. 

Facts: Willow has a Nerf Herder banner in her locker, which is a nod to the composers of the show’s themesong. 

Quotes: “We are defined by the things we fear. This symbol, these two planks of wood, it cofounds me. Suffuses me with mortal dread. But fear is in the mind. Like pain. It can be controlled. If I can face my fear, it cannot master me.” -The Master

Apocalypse Count: 1

Final Notes: We’re back! I’m sorry for the delay, I’ve had a lot going on the last two weeks. But I’m back! Feel free to leave any comments, suggestions, or questions in the ask box!

[cassiaallen]

Another round of Marauder headcanons that have lived in my notes for ages and that I want to get out - this time it’s about Peter Pettigrew aka Wormtail.

The part in cursive/italics is taken directly from a post from @thecarnivorousmuffinmeta - thank you so much for the inspiration!

Enjoy 🤗

The Marauders’s Journey - Peter

Full name: Peter Pettigrew

DOB: 17.03.1960

Born in: Ripley, Surrey

Parents: Nina Pettigrew (née Miller) & Paul Pettigrew

House: Gryffindor

In Hogwarts: 1971-1978

-his parents got divorced when he was a toddler and his dad is no longer in the picture

-showed his first bit of magic when he was around 5/6

-this is the start of his insecurities/feeling of inferiority

-never had any true friends, only people he sometimes hung out with

-he never felt like he belonged anywhere and struggled to make friends

-both his parents are half-blood

-was alone in the last compartment on the Hogwarts Express, until Remus Lupin joined him (he didn’t wanna join already occupied compartments as he felt everyone already found their friends)

-was grateful that R joined him and got on with him very well

-was delighted to be in Gryffindor, the House of the Brave, although he felt like he didn’t earn it

-instantly started to admire J&S as they were the cool and popular boys

-J&S kept him at a distance for the first few days/2 weeks, but they started to include him when he spontaneously covered for them one time

-he can see that J&S are the true bffs; Remus is a good friend, and P just happened to be there (although he doesn’t wanna admit it)

-is not the best academically, but a quick thinker

-doesn’t really like the M bullying Sev, but joins in because J&S are there to protect him (meaning he’s never the one to get in trouble for it)

-his mother was the first person he was able to hide behind, so he developed a tendency to hide behind powerful people

-liked the M, but felt jealous of the bond the other 3 had (especially J&S)

-recognised R was 🐺 before the others found out

-year 3-5 were his best Transfiguration years because of the animagus thing

-was the first M to be able to transform

-managed to save himself from detention a few times by letting J&S take the blame (showing his self-preservation)

-is upset about Lily dating J because now he has to compete for his friends's attention with her as well

-is worried in year 7 about what to do after school and the ongoing war

-joins the OOTP because his friends do

-the more he hears about all the deaths and disappearances, the bigger his fear and the more he wants to get out

The order starts suspecting Remus of being a traitor not because information is necessarily leaking but because he’s a werewolf and has literally 0 reason other than his gratitude to Dumbledore and his shitty one-sided friendship with Sirius and James to be loyal to the ministry. This is a government that will keep him homeless for the rest of his days and with a snap of their fingers might send him to a penal colony simply for existing if not murder him. When they realize that Voldemort’s made an active alliance with the only really organized werewolves in the country, Remus, just by sitting in the Order, looks really really really bad.

He won’t [leave] because James and Sirius would call him a miserable coward, but he could. Now, what if Remus is a spy? What if Remus starts leaking names? Peter would have to leave the country, and even that might not be good enough, the Dark Lord could probably track him down anywhere and when he does... Peter will wish he had never been born.

Peter has to beat Remus to the punch. Peter decides to become a mole for the Dark Lord.

-"better to be protected by both sides than being killed"

-S becoming godfather was the last straw, as he always felt overlooked and ignored by his so-called friends

-he becomes a spy in early 1981

-the last time he visits Jily is on 08.08.1981

-he is conflicted when he is made SK in October 1981, as he now has leverage over the Potters, but at the same time feels uneasy about getting his friends in danger

-he comes to the conclusion that keeping himself alive is the most important thing

-P tells V about the Location on 29.10.1981

-V decides to attack on Halloween because symbolism

-he goes to GH on 🎃 in his rat form to see what V would actually do

-when he witnesses V's downfall, he panics and runs away with V's wand

-he tries to think of a good hiding place and goes to Muggle London at first

-he runs into S

-Confrontation

-escape through the sewers

-he lives on the street for a few weeks but his fear of discovery makes him leave the streets and look for a Wizarding family to live with

-the first few he tried attempted to kill him (still in his rat form) until he eventually joins the Weasleys

-he sometimes transforms back into his human form during the night to eat

-[canon]

[phantom-whisper]

I cannot remember the last time I was this overwhelmed.

I'm going through a divorce, which is apparently official now since I had the audacity to ask where we stood given all of the ongoing mixed messages. My living situation is trash because of this and because of her.

I accepted a part time position in my field to supplement my income, but then turned around and accepted a promotion at my actual job? For some reason? I don't even want it but I was burnt out on what I was previously doing. But this will add a day each week to my schedule, so I'm about to go from working 4 days (40 hrs) to 6 days (52 hrs) each week.

On top of this, I reached out to a previous supervisor/mentor to ask for guidance in the new role, and she in turn told me about a position she feels I would be a good fit for and it pays waaaaay more than I will make anywhere else. Health insurance will be an issue here, but the money is so good. I would have to apply and interview and everything, but if I got it, leaving my current agency would be really scary and I'm sure I wouldn't have a lot of fans after having accepted this other major role and then immediately dipping. The biggest issue is that all three of these jobs are in different zip codes, none of which are where I uprooted my kid to when I got married and she is now enrolled in a school there that she likes.

On the surface, having a lot of options and opportunities is great, but there is so much change happening at once, I don't even know where to live, and my nervous system is already living in perpetual cycles of trauma responses. And now that I'm divorcing the person I've been with for over six years....I don't even have anyone to process any of these things with anymore. Not that she was ever overly supportive in the first place, but she was still my best friend.

My heart is going to pound out of my chest and I'm on the verge of tears pretty much always.

[tomboy014]

Laundress Barbarian Tess

My most recent DnD character Tess Vanderburg, my 5'2", 1/4 dwarf, human barbarian who works as a laundress for the HearthGuard Guild and wields her mighty cast iron skillet and shovel.

Just a quick and dirty picture so I could get it out. When I made her, she also came with a bunch of family members, so it's like 14 OCs for the price of 1!

Tess grew up with her parents and sister in the frontier town, Stubborn, established during the Kingdom’s ongoing expansion.  Her father, a former soldier, settled down after an injury prevented him from continuing his military career and he started a family.  Far from the nearest city, or civilization in general, Tess and her family lived under harsh conditions as they farmed and eked out a living in the wilderness and worked to establish the town.  As such, Tess had to learn a multitude of skills to survive including farming, minor carpentry, edible plants, etc.  Eventually, the town was built into a small hub for travelers, merchants, adventurers, and soldiers on the outskirts of civilization.

As a young woman, Tess earned a living working as a washing woman doing the laundry of the soldiers and adventurers that passed through town.  There, she met Duncan Lewis and his brother Ryan, both in the army, when she was 17.  After a whirlwind romance, she and Duncan were wed.  Being part of a long-term expansion campaign, spouses and children were encouraged to come, so Tess packed up and went on the road with his company as they expanded the kingdom’s borders.  It wasn’t easy, but she was sturdy and her life on the fringes meant she was well prepared for the challenges ahead.  As the soldiers would go off to fight border skirmishes, bandits and monsters, the families would be left to fend for themselves (acted as a replacement for the support branch of the military) with the occasional wounded soldier left behind.  Her mother’s instincts would often kick in as she kept her children safe.  She fought off a bear when Cale was 3 and had wandered off to pick berries.  Another time, bandits attacked the camp, and she beat one’s face into a bloody pulp when he tried to lay hands on her 12-year-old daughter.  She stayed up for almost a week straight when an illness burned through the camp to tend to her infected children while she was burning up with a fever herself.  20% of the camp died, but she and her children pulled through.

To make things even more difficult, Duncan was an abusive ass.  Jealous of his brother’s military and career success, he’d take his frustrations out on Tess.  He also did his best to keep her isolated from the other soldier’s families, so no one in the camp knew it was going on, though a few of the other mothers had their suspicions.  However, he never laid hands on his children, only Tess.  Over time, this caused her self-confidence to erode, and he was her only means of support for the kids, so she put up with it.  Without Duncan, she had no other way to keep them fed and cared for.

Years later, Ryan and Bree’s company joined up with Duncan’s, and Tess had an opportunity to reconnect with her sister after years.  While the companies were together, Aiden (age 14) was found making out with another boy by his father.  He was dragged home, and Duncan took out Aiden’s “failure” on Tess.  Shay (11) stood up for his mother, and Duncan hit Shay for talking back.

Tess.  Blew.  Up.

Enraged, Tess fought back, and the emotional and physical abuse was made public.  Duncan was dishonorably discharged for “conduct unbecoming of an officer” and forced to leave.  He has since become a mercenary, but the others don’t know that.  Tess was granted a divorce, and Bree helped her and the kids back to the frontier town and their mother, Camilla.  There, Tess started to rebuild her life and joined the Support Guild.  Ryan, disgusted by his brother’s actions, cut all contact with Duncan and paid the initial gold needed for Tess to join the guild as a way of apology.  He has tried to rekindle and maintain the positive relationship he used to have with Tess during his early days in the military and be a decent uncle to the kids.

Under the Support Guild, Tess has done what she’s always been good at: domestic work.  In the four years since leaving Duncan, she’s been on teams for large scale archeological expeditions and the like, working with other guild members to run camps.  Aiden and Abby have joined the military, but the others are still under her mother’s care.  She sends money home whenever she can.

Getting this job with the guild has been Tess’s way of rebuilding her confidence and gaining some independence, though she still deals with a lot of self-loathing for letting everything happen to her.  The campaign will be her first solo job under the guild.

The Kids:

Aiden:  The apple of his father’s eye, Aiden is the one who got the most attention from his father as Duncan tried to mold him into a copy of himself.  Not super thrilled about being a soldier, but it’s all he knows.  Gay and outed.  Dark, wavy hair and brown eyes.  Just as handsome as his father.  6’2”.

Abby:  Just as headstrong as her mother once was, Abby is tough as nails and used to helping her mother fight and wrangle her siblings.  A tomboy through and through, she took to her father’s combat training like a fish to water (though she was often overlooked by him in favor of Aiden).  Absolutely admires her aunt, Bree.  Bi, but is afraid to come out after what happened after Aiden was exposed.  Dark straight hair and gray eyes. 5’8”

Shay:  Her sensitive boy.  Artistic and creative, his dream is to go to a city and apprentice as an architect and builder.  Duncan never approved and considered him “weak” for it, but Tess has always been supportive and is currently saving up money to send him to a Dwarven city once he turns 16.  He’s the one you’d swear is gay but is straight.  After what happened with Aiden and Duncan, he is also her brave, brave boy.  Red, curly hair and gray eyes.  5’8” and still growing

Cale and Connor:  11-year-old chaos twins.  They exhaust her, her mother, and everyone who’s ever tried to babysit them.  Referred to as her “gremlins.” Dark, messy hair, brown eyes.

Extended Family:

Tess still has living family among the Mountain dwarves.  She and her sister “met” her grandmother’s clan when they were too young to remember (6 months and 3 years old) but both are aware that they are part of the Skyeforge clan.

The HearthGuard Guild:

Primarily advertised to academics seeking to study remote ruins, rich nobles wanting to play adventurer, or green adventurers roughing it for the first time.  The Support Guild is here to take care of the day-to-day upkeep of your base camp while you focus on your expedition!  Individuals or groups available for hire.

The support guild takes care of camp and cleanliness so you can focus on your mission!  Services offered include, but are not limited to:

Making and breaking camp

Equipment maintenance and care

Cooking

Minor first aid

Camp security

Cart driver and pack animal care

Field Guide (limited to certain areas within guild territory)

They’re basically hired to play party nursemaids or to clean up wizard towers in towns.  It’s not glamorous, but it always needs to be done, so they’re always in demand.

Family:

(Ex)Husband: Duncan Lewis (37)

Brother-in-Law: Ryan Lewis (41)

Kids:

Abby Lewis (18)

Aiden Lewis (18)

Shay Lewis (15)

Cale Lewis (11)

Connor Lewis (11)

Mother: Camille Vanderburg (60), 5’8”, straight brown (now graying) hair, fair-skinned, brown eyes

Father: Rorik Vanderburg (RIP), 5’3”, curly brown hair, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, had a very strong dwarvish accent and beard

Paternal Grandmother: Kristyr Skyeforge, mountain dwarf with bright red, curly hair, blue eyes, square jaw; 4’4”, 160lbs, still alive, Rorik’s mother

Sister: Brianna “Bree” Marsh (39)

Brother-in-Law: James Marsh (RIP)

Nieces: Jess and Jenna Marsh (12 and 9)

[northamptoncouplestherapy]

Getting Unstuck with Kerry Lusignan’s New Online Course: Crisis to Connected

How do two people who love each other and build a life together, fall apart? Are there ways we can predict marital demise and vulnerability to divorce? Of equal importance, how might couples and individuals struggling with gridlock, hopelessness, and betrayal shift their trajectories?

Most importantly, when a relationship reaches a tipping point, can the runaway freight train of marital crisis be stopped?

We sat down with NCCT Founder and Certified Gottman Therapist Kerry Lusignan to get her thoughts on launching her new signature course: Crisis to Connected. We discussed what opportunities a digital course might afford couples in “limbo hell” or individuals who have ambivalent or leaning out partners.We explored the advantages of a digital course. It can be a legitimate alternative (or fantastic supplement) to traditional couples therapy, providing support and tools to people whose relationships are at a tipping point.

Additionally, Kerry shared her motives for creating C2C and discussed her ongoing passion for combining the best-of-the-best, in this case: Gottman, Daring Way,™ Stan Tatkin, and PEXT (Pragmatic Experiential Couples Therapy).

Kerry, what inspired you to create Crisis to Connected? Based on your experience, can a digital course help couples?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I anticipated there would be a greater need for couples services than we’ve seen previously as couples suddenly found themselves sheltering in place together, unable to leave their homes. The stressors of domesticity, parenting, finances, and power-sharing were all converging. COVID has amplified the cracks and the chasms. It has also accentuated our strengths.

Meanwhile digital products and courses are becoming a regular part of our lives. We are learning and seeing the advantages that come from telehealth and online education. There is an enormous opportunity to be creative and offer tools, science, and experiences to couples who never had access to all of these fantastic resources before.

I’m committed to not having a boutique practice. I wanted to create something more affordable for people. A private retreat with NCCT starts at $4,500, and a two-day retreat with me is $6,500, so I wanted to find a way to give people the same value that I give my retreat clients for less money. I’m happy to say I’ve done it.

Crisis to Connected includes the same knowledge, the same skills, the same tools, and the same personalized attention for a fraction of the price ($899). It wasn’t easy. I spent seven months doing research and creating the curriculum. It took me over 400 hours to build, but It was worth the extra effort, and I can’t wait to share it!

Notes from building Crisis to Connected on Kerry’s kitchen island

Will you be teaching the course?

Absolutely, I’m the teacher and creator. Our survey responses showed people want to work with me directly, and I want to work with them and make sure this course offers value. Every week, we’ll launch a new learning module (there are six total), and there will be live office hours so people can ask questions. The recordings will be posted for people who can’t attend live. There will also be downloads via PDFs, recommended resources, and all sorts of excellent supplement material.

Additionally, I’ll be making myself available for a certain number of students to communicate with me asynchronously using VideoAsk, which I’m excited about. It’s really important to me this program feels engaging and fun, unlike many of the typical online courses out there today.

I want people to have a sense of me. I’m a real human being, and my mission is to help support all of us in loving well. To do that, I need to be present.

What is the course based on?

The course’s content draws on the best of the leading models in relationship wellness: Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused, The Daring Way,™ and Pragmatic Experiential Therapy. It also draws on my years of experience refining an approach to couples work grounded in the latest state-of-the-art science of the field.

I’ve tempered it with my unique blend of make-it-work practicality. There’s no excuse for acting like this stuff is magic—it’s not. All of the tools and concepts I teach are do-able and translatable. You don’t need to spend $5,000 to fix yourself or your relationship.

I’ve also kept an eye on having this program be a user-friendly and even a visually appealing experience. I have a fine arts background so every slide, video, and concept is thoughtfully designed.

Who is this course for? Who is it not for?

I created this course for anyone who feels stuck in their relationship.

Being stuck is what kept coming up in all of the research I conducted. Stuck can look like an individual with a partner who won’t budge. Stuck can look like a couple in crisis who can’t get out of gridlock but are motivated to do something. Stuck can also be a couple who likes each other but does not like being married to each other anymore.

The course has a fair amount of homework, reading, worksheets, supplemental videos, and exercises, so it’s not a good fit for someone (or a couple) who doesn’t have the time to invest or is on the fence about initiating change in themselves.

What do you want people to take away from the course?

I want people to feel empowered, not stuck. I want people to gain new perceptions and skills that translate into all of their relationships. I want people to feel like they’re finally free from old patterns and behaviors that have dogged them for years. Moving from crisis to connected is as about connecting to yourself as it is about other people. Connection is where it is at. It’s associated with longevity, joy and peace.

Struggling with whether to stay or leave?

Join NCCT Founder and Certified Gottman Therapist Kerry Lusignan for “Is My Marriage Worth Saving,” a FREE webinar about gaining clarity, courage, and skills in making one of the toughest decisions of your life. Learn the most significant predictors of divorce and how they apply to your relationship, the most common mistake people make when their relationship is in crisis, three little-known ways trust erodes, and more. The webinar will be offered three times and everyone who signs up will be sent a recording. Sign up for free here.

Talk With An Expert.

[micahweissberg]

he scoffs. he doesn't mean to, but it's an instinctive reaction at the offer of a ride. what is he, thirteen? it's not like he's attending a sleepover. though, perhaps it's just one of those things his father had missed out on. displaced nostalgia or something like that. he's stopped trying to understand the psychology behind his father's actions a long time ago. "sorry." it's not like he's out to deliberately hurt his father's feelings. his mother didn't raise him like that. "uh, yeah, i think i'm good. thanks, though." he's not that sorry. "sounds fun," he says at the notion of his father's plans. he knows the guy has no shortage of company; he's always been quite the social butterfly, the complete opposite of the woman who raised him. perhaps that's why he prefers to keep a smaller circle of friends. it's not like he actually has a choice about it, anyway.

he has no beef with his father's pets. they were probably even the best part about the week he'd been staying at his guest room. so at the favor asked, it's kind of had to say no. and he won't admit it, but he appreciates that he'd been asked first, before anybody else. "sure. i can do that. no problem." for the cats, of course.

the rest of the ride is spent in silence, save for the comment about the ongoing town-wide construction project that had made them take a detour and, in comparison, some new project mayor adams had been working on back home. local politics was always a safe bet for small talk, though micah wouldn't have minded just listening to his music all the way through. needless to say, he's relieved when they finally pull up to the diner's parking lot, both for the cool evening air and to find that the diner is still thankfully open.

it's a quaint establishment - a little worse for wear, in a homely kind of way. they find their seats among the sparse booths of the city's nightcrawlers: truck drivers fueling up on caffeine before the the 14-hour drudgery, a pair of girlfriends fussing over a cryptic text message from an ex, a man, dressed similarly to his father, a duffel bag on the seat next to him. two waitresses, both leaning against the counter, mumble something to each other. micah's ears perk up at the sound of the brunette's laughter while the blonde comes over, two menus in hand.

"you're the divorce lawyer," she says by way of greeting to saul, the tip of her pen pointing in his direction like she's tagging him. "yeah, my friend brenda told me all about you." there's this playful glint in her eyes, her brown eyeshadow laid on too thick, like they'd just been touched up in the bathroom. for the evening crowd, micah reckons. it doesn't look bad, but he's been told that blue eyes usually pop out with a little bit of pink. she spares micah a glance - hello, afterthought - features visibly falling at his presence.

"why, do you plan on getting divorced soon?" micah quickly scans the selection of comfort foods before settling on an order. "i'll have the raisin bran, thanks." breakfast for dinner has always been one of his more peculiar eating habits.

driving down the winding roads towards laurel village at least gave saul something to focus on beyond the excruciating silence in the car. he wished he had the conversational ease with micah that he had with pretty much anyone else. their conversations occurred more through wounded looks and disappointed sighs than actual dialogue, so saul never really knew what to say to micah. there were so many things he could say, but what would be the right thing? nothing, probably. no matter what he did, it always seemed to be the wrong choice, the wrong thing to say. silence was easier, but still, he had to try. he had to be happy that micah didn’t just give him a one word answer.

a gig in chicago.

he still didn’t really get the whole stand-up comedy thing, but supported micah regardless. especially since micah was finally returning to law school, so he took that as a win and didn’t argue against it much. “okay, good to know.” micah may have been a grown man and natural new yorker, but saul was his father. chicago wasn’t some crime-riddled wasteland like the news made it seem, but it was still a huge city where anything could happen. he tried not to think about what could happen, lest he lost his mind with worry. “do you… need a ride? i can take you, if you want.” saul offered, though he figured micah wouldn’t want his daddy to drop him off at work like he was some teenager at their first job. “i’ll probably meet up with a friend for dinner or something, go to shul on saturday morning, but i don’t have any concrete plans.” saul answered casually, though his heart was beating slightly faster than normal. though, in his opinion, it was a small favor he was about to ask, he feared micah would put up some sort of fuss. “next weekend, though, i’m going back home for a few days. my college roommate’s daughter’s getting married and i thought it was a good excuse to visit some old friends.” he inhaled softly, taking his eyes off the road to glance at micah. “would you be willing to watch marmie and smokey? i usually ask phoebe to do it but i wondered if maybe you’d like to. you don’t have to stay in the house if you don’t want to, just visit twice a day to feed them and take care of their litter boxes.” 

[bbtsficrecs]

BTS fanfic recs. part 1

This is a list of bts fanfics that I highly recommend! Don’t you worry, more members will be added along the way. If you ever wanna talk about one of the fanfics or recommend me one, hit me up! Remember to send some love to these amazing authors. Please let me know if some of the links don’t work. Happy reading!

Part 2 will be uploaded soon, so be sure to follow me for the next recommendations!

Disclaimer: if this post seems familiar it’s because I had to move blogs and repost everything 🥲

Part 2 ♡

⊹ Navi ‣ Part 1 ♡ Part 2 ♡ Part 3 ♡ Part 4 ♡

Evolution of a lovers heart (fluff, angst) 1, 2, 3, 4 (ongoing) | Fuckboy!AU, +55,5k The rules are simple: first one to take the virginity wins.

Inkling (smut, angst) | TattooArtist!AU, 17,7k Jungkook is your brother’s boyfriend’s co-worker, they own a tattoo and piercing parlour. In other words, he’s tall, gorgeous, has his passion literally etched into his skin, looks incredibly good in a man-bun, and is semi-unattainable for you. Why? Well…you’re not entirely sure but him ditching right after a very heated make-out session sure isn’t a good sign. His extremely poor mood the next week sure isn’t either, but the only way to fix it is to face the beast head-on. Right?

Pretty boy (smut, fluff) | Friends to secret lovers, 4k He’s just a pretty boy, a pretty boy ~ you wanna be his pretty toy.

The likelihood of being on your mind (fluff, angst) | Childhood friends to lovers, 18,2k You don’t think about Jeon Jungkook that often, but when you do, it’s always followed by feelings of antipathy. and really, why think of him when you could be thinking about soccer captain, Kim Seokjin instead? You have your heart set on Seokjin. There is nothing you want more than to make him yours. But of course, Jungkook has to throw a wrench in it.

The bet (smut) | Boyfriend!AU, 2,7k How a bet turned into public sex

On call 1, 2 (smut, humor) | Strangers to lovers, 9,6k After a catastrophic first date, you end up leaving the hospital angry, tired and date-less. Hoping to have a drink or five, you end up in a nearby bar, sitting next to the same doctor who caught your eye earlier.

Cockblocked (smut, fluff) | Roomates!AU, 15,8k In which a pair of best friends are hopelessly in love with one another but they’re both too dumb to realize, even when everyone around them are dropping hints every five minutes. or alternatively; “you’re an idiot for thinking I wouldn’t love you back.”

Everything I ever wanted (fluff) Cockblocked drabble | Roomates!AU, 780 In which you get caught slipping out of Jeongguk’s bedroom.

Hurts good (smut, fluff, angst) | Idol!AU, 3,3k Jungkook stands you up after promising to take you out. You’re pissed at him but he makes up for it in all the right ways.

Only mine (smut, fluff?) | Jealousy!AU, 5,1k In which Jungkook gets jealous

Too late (angst) | Divorce!AU His sexual attraction had taken his attention away from the woman he should’ve stayed with forever and his urges ruined his marriage that was perfectly fine, and although the newly-found pleasure is euphoric… he can’t help but feel guilty.

Not too late? (angst) | Divorce!AU

Dilf Jungkook (smut) | Husband!AU The grocery store girl hits on your husband.

Dilf Jungkook part 2 (smut, crack) | Husband!AU New parents jk & you’s sex life isn’t at all what it used to be, so when the opportunity presents itself, you grab it.

The art of wanting (smut) | Strangers to lovers, 10,3k You find a baby in your store and in turn, a dilf finds you.

Over the edge (smut) | Boyfriend!AU, 9,1k So, you’re dating. everything is dandy, the sex is knocking your socks off, but what happens when you get in the First Real Fight?

Morning games (smut) | Non-Idol!AU, 4k In which you want Jungkook back in bed  

Dude (fluff) | Boyfriend!AU, 400 Jungkook hates the new petname you’ve given him.

The philosophy of good luck (smut, fluff) | TattooArtist!AU, 7k “you told me i looked good and that you needed to get a tattoo of my face” is not the explanation you wanted to hear from the tattoo artist that permanently etched the dumbest drunken request of your life onto your skin.

Swipe right (smut, fluff, angst) | Best friends to lovers, 9k After a horrible breakup, you sign back up for tinder and ironically match with your best friend, Jungkook. a date for fun is harmless, right?

Departure (smut, fluff) | Pilot!AU, 6,2k As a flight attendant for Korean Air, you’re scheduled for a thirteen-hour flight to Japan. However, things get intimate between you and your partner and co-pilot, Jeon Jungkook, when he realizes Park Jimin, the famous idol from Korea, broads the plane and blatantly flirts with you.

Strings attached (fluff, smut) | Idol!AU, 4,4k Jungkook is what we can call your sexfriend. No strings attached, just you and him having fun and releasing the huge pressure and stress of being idols. But after spending an entire day together, you realize that maybe he’s not just your sexfriend.    

Snowy hills (fluff, angst) | Surgeon!AU, 3,9k it was supposed to be a normal night, so you could only imagine Jungkook’s surprise when he saw you being wheeled in on a stretcher.

Ruin the friendship (smut, fluff) | Best friends to lovers, 8k Your drunk ass best friend keeps calling you to take care of him and it wouldn’t be so awful, if it weren’t for The Feelings.

Please love me 1, 2, 3 (angst, fluff, smut) | Arranged married, 47,9k As the only unmarried Jeon and Kim children, your families propose a union to symbolize your unbreakable bond that spans generations. But despite developing an affection for Jungkook growing up, he never returned it; he never seemed to like you, actually. You’re okay with the proposal, but surprise surprise, he isn’t.

Let the games begin (smut, fluff) | Gamer!AU, 5,7k Just another fic where oc rides jk in his gaming chair

Baby I don’t feel so good (angst, fluff) | Idol!AU You didn’t mean to miss the award show, but by god you were sick as hell. and you didn’t mean to miss all of his phone calls and texts, but how were you to reply when you were passed out in the bed with a headache and fever?

In your eyes (smut, angst, fluff) | Fratboy!AU, 10,6k Jungkook always sees you like the only girl in the world, and you just see him as a fuckboy. OR Jungkook just wants a chance.

Stranded (smut, fluff, angst) | Enemies to lovers, 13k Jungkook’s offer to help you study for your exam is unwelcome. His entire presence is unwelcome. You don’t want help from the guy who passes all his classes without even trying. It’s annoying — he is annoying. From the way he grins whenever he catches you staring at him, to the way his eyes shine whenever he smiles at you. Oh, and let’s not forget the way his tattoos shift when he stretches or the way his jawline sharpens when he’s focused. Nope, you definitely can’t stand him.

Waking up en Vegas (fluff, smut) | Brothers best friend, 3,1k You know what they say. what happens in vegas, stays in vegas.  but, what happens when you accidentally marry your brother’s best friend? Hidden away (angst) | Hanahaki!AU When it’s too late

A little stand never hurt anyone (smut, angst) | Best friends to lovers, 12,5 Happy anniversary! Oh wait, it’s just a friendship anniversary. You and Jungkook decide to dedicate your anniversary day to each other by visiting the beach and its shops. Luckily for you and Jungkook, you find a secluded spot on the beach that allows you plenty of privacy.

Switch lanes (fluff, smut, angst) | Strangers to lovers, 16,6k In which being friends with benefits with Taehyung lead you to Jungkook.

Broken trust (angst) | Breakup!AU In which you gave him three chances.

Don’t lie to me (angst) | Breakup!AU In which you were a bet.

Photographs (angst, fluff) | Relationship!AU In which you show Jungkook that you love him.

Sex education (fluff, smut) | Brothers best friend, 12k “You want me to… what?” Jungkook chokes on his croissant, and how could he fucking not, with you looking at him with those pleading eyes, asking for something that he knows would get him into jail. Well, maybe not like actual jail. But definitely the Bro Code Jail. The jail where only bros who broke the Bro code went to.

Sex education 2.0 (smut, angst, fluff) | Brothers best friend, 9k “Are you calling me boring?” Jungkook gasps dramatically, looking at you dumbfounded and visibly offended. You roll your eyes, taking a napkin and leaning forward to wipe the crumbs of garlic bread on his lips.“First of all, don’t talk with your mouth full, you pig. Second of all,” you stop to take a sip of your coke, aware of Jungkook’s expectant eyes on you. “A little, yeah.“

It takes two (smut, angst, fluff) | Soulmates!AU, 21,1k Uncertainty always lingered where soulmates’ souls bonded. You didn’t understand, and when he walked down the isle, you understood even less.

Hot boy bummer (smut, angst, fluff) | Fuckboy!AU, 14,6k When Jungkook offers you a proposition of just sex, no strings attached, how can you possibly say no? after all, what are best friends for?

A quarter past us (fluff, angst) | Exes to lovers, 13,8k When you break up with him out of fear of losing your freedom in university, he finds himself showing you why leaving him isn’t the answer.

Concrete king (fluff, smut) | Skaterboy!AU, 16,7k When a cute boy in a tacky hawaiian shirt lands a trick in your honor theres no way you could you ever say no to him.

This kingdom 1, 2  (smut) | Gamer!AU In some cases, hate and love are the same thing. Or, in this specific case, hate and overwhelming, breathless, mind-blowing lust. And it all started because you were better at League of Legends than Jeon Jungkook.

Oops (smut, fluff) | Strangers to lovers, 6k You don’t know who the wonderful voice singing in the shower is, but you need to know

(Un)welcomed Addition (fluff, angst) | Fuckboy!AU, 9k After a drunken one night stand with your neighbor, you have your reasons for wanting to forget it ever happened and never talk to him again. Unfortunately, Jungkook wins the award for the world’s worst neighbor so his 3 am wakeup calls and mail stealing have you banging at his door on an almost weekly basis. You just want to make it to the end of your lease so you can leave all the traces of the fuckboy next door behind…unless your feelings get in the way of course.

The Push (smut, fluff, angst) | College!AU, 11k In which you go from being friends to lovers

Bad habits (smut, angst) | Fuckboy!AU, 5,5k “Tell me something,” he spoke. “Do you want this - us? You said you didn’t know what to call us but I want to give you a name.”

Banana milk (smut) | Strangers to lovers, 6,7k Sent to the grocery store in the middle of the day, you’d never believe who you ran into in the milk aisle.

Pushing you away (angst, fluff) Where he always pushes oc away (who confesses her feelings but was cruelly rejected) and insults her but she always comes back to take care of him when he’s drunk or picks him up from his one night stands and she finally decides to leave him alone

Somnolent (fluff) | Roomates!AU, 3,5k After spending one night in bed with you, Jeongguk finds out he is unable to sleep unless you’re sleeping with him.

Kind like you (smut, angst, fluff) Jungkook dearly wants to be kind like you. He wants to be so sweet, and gentle, and soft like you’re with him all the time; yet all he does is tease and pick on you, it seems.

Come here I’m your paradise (smut, fluff) | Honeymoon!AU, 4,8k In which you’re on your honeymoon.

Canceled (smut) | College!AU, 6,4k Jungkook has a passion for camo pants, science, and debating with strangers on the internet. Usually, he wins arguments, but when you show up in the comment section of one of his his blog posts, shit goes down and he’s left wanting more than a virtual conversation.

All over you 1, 2, 3, 4 (smut, angst, fluff) | College!AU, 6,4k You don’t usually go for the quiet, nerdy type, but Jungkook’s by far the best looking guy in your year. You just can’t help yourself. You have to have him. Small hiccup; he hates you.

The other women (angst) | Cheating!AU, 1,6k Where you the other women?

One Way Ticket (fluff) | Relationship!AU, 4k Long distance relationships are never an easy thing, and although you and Taehyung had managed to make it work for four years and were used to not seeing each other that much already, he couldn’t help but feel like his birthday was ruined at the news of you being stuck at the airport due to a bad weather flight delay. However, although things didn’t quite go to plan, it only took for you to arrive two hours before the day was over for it to be his happiest of birthdays so far.

Last night (angst) | Friends to ?, 1,2k “I’ve been in love with you since forever Taehyung and I’m pretty sure you knew about it, given how perfectly not-slick I was about it.“

Step up (or step out) (angst, fluff) | New parents!AU, 3,5k The few first months are always hard on new parents, but Yoongi didn’t expect it to be this bad. He didn’t expect you to consider walking out on him.

27 phone numbers (smut, angst) Yoongi has gone through twenty-seven phone numbers over the last ten years, and you haven’t changed yours since high school.

Wrecked (angst) | Breakup!AU, 1,3k Months after your break up, just before a performance, Jimin finds out that you’re seeing someone new through Instagram. His group mates pick up the pieces after that.

[buckyswintersoldiermask]

Navigation

Updated: October 11, 2024

Do not repost, translate, or copy my work. I do not use any other platform, I only use tumblr for writing. Thanks.

“I hate you.” “No, you hate that you love me.”

“Well, that was stupid.”

“I’m so happy, I could kiss you right now!”

““If you want to do everything alone, go ahead. I’m not stopping you.”

Faint Memory: finished (mini series)

You, Bucky, Sam, and Steve go on a mission and the you gets hurt and has amnesia. You and Bucky spend a lot of time together as your memory slowly comes back.

I’ll love you forever: finished (mini series)

You and Bucky’s time in Wakanda.

Scorching Hello (on hold)

Part 1 / Part 2

The Super Soldier and His Friend: finished

When you’re friends with a 106 year old Super Soldier, anything can happen.

(1k words and under)

Attention

Bucky comes to your job because he wants attention.

Bedtime

Bucky finds you in the lab at 4am and makes you go to bed.

Big Prize

You and Bucky go to the fair and he wins you a giant bear.

Body, Body pt. 2

Bucky shows you how much he loves everything about you including your body, You show Bucky that you love all of him.

Cuddles

You come home wanting cuddles but Bucky is being difficult.

Dinner

You were having a rough week so Bucky made your favorite dinner.

Hands

After a mission Bucky finally lets you clean his hands, both of his hands.

His Gaze

Bucky had been staring at you for weeks so you decide to confront him and ask him on a date

Not so Secret Thoughts

You’re a new recruit with the ability to hear thoughts, but Bucky doesn’t know that.

Online Dating

You find out Bucky has a tinder account so you help him with his profile.

Perfect For Me

Bucky keeps his distance because he thinks he should stay away so he doesn’t hurt you. You tell him he doesn’t need to.

Please Stay

You come back from a rough mission, battered and Bucky comforts you.

Slow Mornings

You and your little family have a slow morning.

Stealing his clothes

Bucky wakes up and sees you wearing his shirt.

Strut

You ask Bucky to strut for you.

Stubborn

Bucky coming back from a mission a little bruised and battered and wouldn’t let anyone treat him but you.

Surprise Cake

You decided to make your baker husband, Bucky a cake. Which you thought came out perfect, he thought otherwise.

Talk to Me

You get self conscious over your relationship with Bucky and he reassures you.

Amends to Friends?

Bucky comes to your house to make amends, but you tell him he doesn’t have to.

A New Beginning

Bucky confesses his love for you after waiting for years.

Aftermath

Bucky and Sam coming over to your place after Steve goes back to Peggy.

A Wedding and A Breakup

You and Bucky are apart of your best friends big day but how he acts makes you question your future together.

Confession

Bucky confessing his feelings to you, using tips from you.

Driver’s Test

Bucky comforts you before your driver’s test and after you fail.

Fake Snow

Bucky surprises you after you tell him you miss the snow.

Frozen in Time

Childhood bestfriends find each other again after going down different paths, two of them get closer than others.

Jealous Interest

You and Bucky go on a mission to the club and realizations come out.

Let me help you

Bucky tries to make it up to you with a romantic dinner, to apologise for his ongoing behaviour, until it goes sideways and he is left to figure out himself.

The Letter

You find a letter that Bucky has kept from a girl from his past, you leave once you find the letter. Bucky finds you and explains himself.

Parents

You had been feeling sick for a few weeks and you’ve been avoiding the doctor. Bucky asks Natasha to convince you to see a doctor, but she has her own plan because she knows what’s wrong with you.

Picnic for two

Bucky plans a picnic in the park for you.

The Hotel Bed

You get an unexpected visitor on your solo mission and you have to share the bed.

Rent

You and Bucky go out looking at apartments.

Reunited

3 years after your divorce, Bucky invites you over to talk.

Starting Over (part 2 of Reunited)

After going back to give Bucky a chance to explain himself, you decide to start over.

Realize

Bucky remembers the time when he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you.

Bucky Barnes when you’re sick...

Bucky Barnes when you get hurt on a mission..

Thank you for reading ❤️

Likes, comments, reblogs, and feedback are all welcome ��

Taglist

[thejudgingtrash]

11. “...did you just sniff me?” for percabeth pretty please 🙏🤍🤍🤍

Heya! I’m finally here to come back to this request 😄😄 It took me only a little bit in comparison to other requests, but I'm here!

Also since @percyheartsannabeth, @skaterannabeth and @not-optimistic-petrol-biscuit had asked about fluff. Here you go... Kinda? 😬 Anyway. Here's a monster sneak peek into may I introduce you to my beloved wife? 😋

It took me all day yesterday, but I managed to pump out 11k words. That's a record for a single session in one day (with like two breaks). And yes, that is still not the entire chapter. Here are roughly 9,2k for you to consume!

TW: alcohol, overbearing relatives not minding their own business, a tiny section talking about domestic abuse and Athena and Frederick Chase ain't shit but that's nothing new. Poseidon too, for once. Enjoy!

may I introduce you to my beloved wife?

(*absolutely not proof-read, my bad)

Annabeth sighed. You can do this. You can do this. You’ve already finished the week. Think about the money. Think about the move to California. Push through this day and next week, think about the money and the minute you’ll hand your termination in. She wanted to splash some water up her face, but the makeup that tinted her lips in a luscious rose and added some bronze to her high cheekbones was too expensive to be washed off and hastily reapplied.

It was pre-Dionysus Day, which meant it was merely the calm before the storm. The first sparkling sip of an impending disaster waiting to rollover the roomy Greek villa Percy forced her to stay in. Well not really forced. Forced and bribed her to stay in. That made it sound slightly better. Just think of the one-hundred seventy-five dollars he’s going to transfer into your bank account for your new start in California. I should renegotiate. California is also expensive. Make it two-hundred fifty thousand.

The tall blonde looked at her reflection in the mirror. A young woman full of life was the first thing she had seen in the morning but now she looked tired and annoyed, just how she felt. Something crashed in one of the dozens of rooms next to her and people laughed. Annabeth sighed again. It was the only thing she could do, otherwise she would scream like a banshee, making sure that at least Hermes and Prometheus would check her, if it wasn’t for Percy stuffing socks into her mouth to make her shut up before they got to her. The majority of his Greek relatives had been lovely if not terribly nosy and overbearing. It was the opposite of her family. His was warm and chaotic and for the most part welcoming. Hers? Cold, apathetic, disapproving of everything she did. She had no family in comparison, and neither would she want to compare this wholesome messy bunch to the cold-hearted Athena Pallas and the monster that was Friedrich Chase.

Annabeth respected Hera and Hestia, she definitely side-eyed Aphrodite who was cheating on her husband and she would definitely stay away from Zeus. Crossing paths with him occasionally in the New York office of Atlantic INC. was terrible, seeing him openly be flirty and loosen up during a forced trip was way worse.

This was a bad idea and I have a terrible feeling about this. The burgundy wrap dress that hugged her skin was soft and light but in the Thessalian heat it felt like a sticky cocoon caging her. She wasn’t a beautiful butterfly, ready to burst out and wow everyone. Neither was she a moth drawn to a flame. She was a bug that had been sprayed by Percy with a pesticide, wrapped in toxic chemicals which were slowly dissolving her body, piece by piece.

A knock shoved the horrendous image inside of her head aside. “Yes?” she asked with a firm voice. Too firm with a hint of annoyance, but she was not a professional actress and could not switch her emotions off as she pleased. She was a junior marketing manager for Christ’s sake. Not for much longer. Only two more months…

Percy opened the door. “Are you ready?“ he asked with his usual pleasant baritone reaching her ear.

He wore light linen pants that hugged his legs loosely and a light blue shirt with the first buttons opened up. She could see his defined chest and the swirls of black hair peeking through. The hair was styled into a disheveled curly mess which suited him way better than the gelled back corporate look and he forgot to trim his beard like the day before. Annabeth couldn’t deny what she saw – her tormentor was a very attractive man.

“Do you want to bail?” His sea-green eyes darkened a shade. Worry flashed through them.

Annabeth exhaled sharply for the last time. “I wish I could but then I’d leave you without a fiancé,” she smiled through the pain.

Her glance found her reflection again. The topknot was still intact, and a few strands carefully framed her heart-shaped face. She looked perfect on the outside and she wanted to commit manslaughter in the inside.

“Let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and stretched his hand out. It seemed like Percy was the one that would rather bail.

Annabeth took it without any complaint. She was the happy girlfriend soon-to-be-wife and holding hands was way better than being forced into kissing him during Sports Day. The Theodoropoulos family truly had planned activity after activity during those two weeks in winter.

“Oh!” Sally peeked into the bathroom and saw her son holding Annabeth’s hand.

“There you are! Is everything okay, mija?” she asked with her sweet Dominican accent and looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth automatically smiled back. Sally was the mother she never had, and it broke her heart crumble by crumble by the sheer charade Percy and she were forced to display for the next six days. Sally Jackson deserved the best. She certainly didn’t deserve being deceived and lied to by her terrible son and his tag-a-long coworker.

“Yes, Percy was just making sure we’re arriving on time.” Annabeth got on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Percy’s stubbled cheek. It tickled but by now she had gotten used to it.

He rolled his eyes, smiled at his mother, nonetheless. Sally’s eyes sparkled and she clapped, clutching her hands tightly. “You don’t know how proud you’re making me, mijo,” she then said teary-eyed.

“You finally found a great girl and she is standing next to you.” Sally wiped a tear away and the awful feeling that sat on Annabeth’s chest and made everything heavier, amplified by a thousand times.

This was way worse than being referred to as the woman that would bear him three to five children presuming with the first one sired on this current vacation by Ares. Yes, Annabeth wanted two children at max, but not definitely now. She was twenty-eight and in the prime of her life! Note: Percy would certainly not be the father of said two children. Unruly blond waves and a mischievous grin blitzed through her head. Pale blue eyes came back from the deepest pit of her memory. Luke. Fuck no, that was even worse than Percy. His betrayal… Annabeth tried to shake the memory off and focused on the ongoing situation in front of her.

Sally truly hoped her son found love and not a quick fling. Oh shit, Annabeth thought and looked up to Percy whose face expressed similar thoughts. His conscience nibbled and guilt flooded his body.

“Mamá,” Percy began and released Annabeth’s hand in order to grasp the older woman’s shoulder.

Sally brushed his large hands off. “No, no! Off you go! You younglings should be downstairs celebrating your reunion with the entire side of Poseidon’s family.”

Annabeth appreciated the fact that Sally was invited and flown out each winter holiday by the Theodoropoulos’. Despite having been divorced from Poseidon for over twenty years, she was still a popular and welcomed guest, not just because of her son’s attachment to the Greek side and his tied division of the Greek family company.

Sally gave each of them a last smile before entering the women’s bathroom. Percy exhaled and pinched his nose. After ten seconds he released the nose and looked back at Annabeth. “Ready?” he asked a final time. Annabeth nodded.

The loud singing, yelling and talking that had been muffled by the bathroom hit her by a tenfold. The place had all the Mamma Mia vibes without the fun singing four days ago. Not anymore, as drunk relatives hit up the shore with loud music and talked loudly in their Pontic Greek dialect.

As the couple descended the stairs and walked through the parlor, a new wave of guests arrived at the same time. Three people that have just entered early adulthood looked up to them. Two men, one blond with a stoic face and bronzed skin, the other was shorter with spiky black hair and a beautiful grin on his lips. The woman next to him was the tallest out of the trio and possessed a high ponytail that would leave Ariana Grande dying out of envy. The dyed lilac hair swung around and nearly reached the middle of her thighs, meaning the hair was even longer without its tight prison on top.

“Thanatos, Zagreus, Megaera!” greeted Percy and gave each one of them a rib crushing bear hug. They looked pleasantly surprised at seeing Percy being accompanied by a pretty woman his age. It seems like the proposal didn’t reach all of the ends of the Greek world.

They fell into a short conversation in Greek and Annabeth smiled politely next to Percy as she fell entirely out of place. The evil Duolingo owl didn’t prepare her for this experience. Neither did her mother bother teaching her at least their Athenian dialect properly. She could introduce herself in Greek, order a beer, say goodbye and that was it. Thank you, Athena. For nothing again.

“Oh, you must be Annabeth,” Megaera eyed her carefully and Annabeth had the feeling that she could split her open with her hands. Weirdly enough, Annabeth was kind of into it. Megaera wasn’t only as tall as Percy but she was clearly the one with the toughest workout regimen as she displayed her muscular legs and defined arms with a short cocktail dress only a few shades darker than her hair.

“Yes,” Annabeth squeaked. She nearly added a ma’am towards the end. Megaera cocked her dark eyebrow. She had an aura that demanded respect.

“Interesting to see the woman who captured Perseus’ heart. It seems that he did develop a good taste after all. Calypso was as pretty as the crescent moon flower but sadly as dull as his corny jokes are.” Megaera’s deep smirk was a stamp of approval as her eyes roamed all over Annabeth.

“Hey!” Percy interrupted and placed a firm hand on Annabeth’s waist, as if he was trying to mark his territory.

“You have your own toys right to your right,” he then added with a playful tone.

Megaera actually laughed and waved dismissively. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.” A clear offer which left Annabeth’s face turn into a fiery tomato red.

“Anyway, we have some catching up to do,” Thanatos proposed as Zagreus and he silently watched the conversation blossom. He sounded as reserved as he looked.

“Indeed,” Zagreus agreed, surprising Annabeth with a posh English accent. “Father will murder me if we miss out on his moussaka. It’s to die for you need to try it, Annabeth, at least before Hephaestus gets ahead of himself.”

Annabeth laughed. The Theodoropoulos did have their positives. “I will, Zagreus,” she nodded.

“Oh please, if aunt Sally gave her go for you to stay here, you’re as good as family. We’re Than, Zag and Meg for you,” Zagreus offered.

“Annabeth is already my nickname but thank you for the kind offer!”

The three new guests went on to join relatives and friends at the party which seemed to get more chaotic by each passing minute as the volume seemed to increase.

“My cousin Zagreus from my uncle Hades’ side,” Percy explained as the three went out of his sight.

“Are they friends? Or…”

“Pretty sure they’re polyamorous. You know, I don’t know, and I honestly don’t really care, I see Zag once every twelve months at max. Just don’t stick to Meg’s side for too long otherwise she’ll turn you into her fiancé.” Percy’s tone suggested that he was not joking.

“Oh.” Annabeth didn’t know what to think of it.

Percy closed his eyes as if he was making a silent prayer, before his sea-green met Annabeth’s light gray ones. She smelled like lemon with a hint of lavender, instead of roses like normally. Delicious. If it weren’t for the fact that it was Annabeth.

“So, listen. You know I’ve talked about Dionysus Day and how his birthday brings out the worst side of everyone.”

Annabeth nodded as Percy went on to explain.

“Pre-Dionysus Day is basically same with the only exception that my great-grandmother’s house is filled with the entire family. Yes, we’re expected to eat, drink, laugh, drink, dance, drink, reminisce on our past, drink, make fools out of ourselves in order for them to take blackmail pictures and drink some more, but no matter how much they want you to open up… try to control yourself. Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

Annabeth’s stomach started to churn, and her knees slightly gave in. “Look, I’m truly sorry for the mess that I’ve caused,” Percy looked directly into her eyes and tried to ignore the rosy streaks across her flushed cheeks. “And my relatives can be overbearing. But if we manage to stick through this night and the next one tomorrow, we’re as good as done with playing games.”

“Fine,” Annabeth gritted through her teeth. She had agreed to the terms and condition. She didn’t need a reminder of the stupid decision she made two months ago.

“Let’s go.”

She placed her hand on the doorknob that separated the parlor from the huge living room. Percy followed her as she opened the door. A wave of laughter, wine, ouzo, discovered secrets, cigarettes, sweat and fun hit them.

“Oh wow, someone should open a window.” Percy suggested as he coughed. Luckily cousin Metis had the same idea. No, aunt Metis. Or was it Thetis? Why did Percy need to have so many relatives with similar names again?

“Oh, Annabeth, look at you!” Aphrodite had snuck up behind them and surprised the fake couple by hugging each of them and nearly spilling the expensive Greek vintage in her hand on Percy’s shirt. The red alcoholic liquid carelessly swirled in her glass and more than often seemed to want to escape from her clutch.

“Aphrodite, be careful!” Percy reminded her as she dug her fingers into his arm. Her nails were as fake and bought as was the bond between Annabeth and Percy.

“Oh, please cousin, you should learn how to loosen up!” She laughed, but it sounded more like the shrill sound a bird made when it got nearly hit by a car. The high pitch made Annabeth slightly frown.

“Take your girl upstairs and show her all the Zorbas moves you got!” She wiggled her badly overdrawn eyebrows.

Aphrodite had always been the poster child of perfection. She knew how to dress her curvaceous body the right way, she knew how to apply the perfect touches of makeup on her face and she was the most graceful being Annabeth had ever met. Seeing her so disheveled left the blonde American content. It showed that Aphrodite wasn’t one of the gods, she was a mortal mess like they all were. That, and it was kind of funny seeing the abrupt transition from oozing perfection to looking like a rough mess after a couple of glasses of wine.

“If you know what I mean, you two know what I mean, right?”

“Yes,” Annabeth and Percy answered. Unfortunately, they did.

“That reminds me, this is such a pretty dress that you got!” Aphrodite’s eyes widened and she tugged at Annabeth’s sleeve that went slightly over her elbows. “Percy needs to bring me a couple of those the next time he visits. Oh wait! You’re about to marry, Annabeth can take me shopping. I want to visit New York next summer. When was your wedding again?”

Panic filled Annabeth she tried to stutter a lame excuse like they had done the entirety of the stay. Aphrodite’s brown eyes found something else to focus on in the meantime. Her hand went out to poke the tall blonde’s chest as she went on to pull on the thin fabric.

“You should show the men what you got! Free the girls!” Aphrodite yelled over the loud music, pushing Annabeth’s C cup to its limits. “Let Percy stand in the corner with that stupid frown, all jealous and depressed while you’re out on the hunt!”

Percy did not look amused especially since he tried to pull Annabeth away.

“Yeah, just like that!” Aphrodite’s glass pointed directly at his face as Annabeth tried to shove Aphrodite’s fickle fingers aside. “Oh, if I were just a little bit younger and not tied to your cousin…”

“You mean cousins,” Percy corrected and made a step backwards as Aphrodite’s dreamy and drunk dazed focus shifted from Annabeth to him.

“Aphrodite, leave Percy and his future wife alone,” Hera arrived to save the stressed couple and rolled her eyes. “Go harass Hephaestus and try to be a faithful wife for once in your life.”

She still looked like she had a massive stick shoved up her ass by the way she stood entirely straight next to them, but Annabeth appreciated the gesture. If Hera didn’t like Aphrodite much, Annabeth would rather join Team Hera than stand alone by the bleachers and under Aphrodite’s charmspeak. Aphrodite pouted and stomped with her feet twice as if she were a toddler and not a grown woman marching towards her forties. Then she stormed off and ran into the arms of her lover, nother husband to spite her mother-in-law and embarrass her even further.

“Malàka,” Hera cursed and lost her cool for one second, before clearing her throat and focusing on the already tired fake engaged couple in front of her. Not even Hera seemed to be averse from drinking a glass of wine or two. “You two definitely need a drink.”

Annabeth agreed with her for once.

She pointed at the bar behind her, which was managed by Dionysus and his wife Ariadne. The number of relatives ganging up on them and demanding new drinks was frightening. Surprisingly Dionysus kept his cool and shoved drinks in people’s hands at an impressive speed.

“Yeah, let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and took Annabeth’s hand again.

“Are you okay?” Annabeth asked him. She knew from Thalia that Percy rarely ever drank and that his family was to blame for most of it. Percy seemed stiffer and graver than usual as well. As much as she disliked his jokey nature and easy-going demeanor he displayed at work, she’d much rather have that Percy by her side right now. Dionysus Day and the day before seemed like it was hell on earth for him and walking through it each year must take a toll on him.

“Yeah, let’s just each grab a glass of wine. Let them be happy about me shoving this disgusting stuff down my throat.” He thanked Ariadne as she prepared two glasses of the same vintage Aphrodite seemed to have inhaled earlier.

“Thank you.” Annabeth took her glass and sniffed. The wine smelled sickly sweet with a hint of the bitterness that the fermentation process had left. The glass in her hand weighed surprisingly heavy, not because of the wine itself but because of the golden swirls decorating it. The glass transitioned from the crystal-clear transparency into a deep black. A lyre surrounded by a bigger laurel wreath decorated the middle section and a golden snake was wrapped around the stem. The golden rim gave it a nice finish.

“Into a fruitful night,” Percy darkly mumbled over the music. He was really not looking forward to it, which confused Annabeth immensely. She didn’t understand why he pushed himself through this if he really didn’t like the drinking activities. He surely had his reasons, hence her not starting a fight with him over it. It was his family and their tradition after all.

“Into a fruitful night,” Annabeth instead repeated.

Issuing a weird toast as well. Percy Jackson was clearly not a drinker. Their glasses clinked and each of them took a sip. Thankfully grandma Rhea made sure they were well-fed before the festivities began.

“Fuck,” Annabeth muttered. A fine vintage as well. Not as sweet as she thought, it left a hint of sweet cumin as the lingering aftertaste. Her lipstick left a mark on the glass, but she didn’t bother to care as she took another gulp. The wine was nearly finished. She slowly started to understand why ancient civilizations went crazy after this stuff.

As she looked at her so-called fiancé, she saw that his glass was already empty. A grimace rested on his face as well.

“Err, Percy?”

“What?” The dark brooding look on his face was no more.

“Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Annabeth carefully asked. His eyes narrowed.

“I am,” he stated and cocked his head towards his cousin who was still busy playing the barkeeper but kept an overall watchful glimpse on the guests that flooded the gates.

“Dionysus saw me drink. Most importantly he saw us have a drink. That should be enough for me, but if you want some more, be my guest.” He shrugged.

Annabeth felt that she should probably drag his mopey ass out of the party, but it was way too early to leave. “Fine,” she said and asked Ariadne for a refill. Annabeth went in for another long sip. She should definitely stock her wine cabinet once she was back at her shitty apartment. Before the glass reached her lips again, Hermes snatched it away and chugged the remaining wine.

“Hermes, what the hell?!” Ariadne grabbed the glass and pushed her husband’s cousin away. The bored postman was back with his shenanigans.

“My bad, dear wifey, but I’m on a mission here to abduct sweet Annabeth,” Hermes winked and placed his hands around Annabeth’s shoulders.

“What are you up to?” Out of all of the relatives she’s met so far, Annabeth was convinced that everything Zeus had ever sired was a mistake. Zeus himself was a mistake.

“Can you stop being German and boring for once?” he joked. Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. She did not like this one bit. She turned her head around and saw that Percy had been pulled into a conversation by Hypnos and Morpheus. He had completely forgotten about her. Great.

Hermes guided her through the crowd, towards the middle of the room. They had to dodge chairs, drunk relatives, a sofa, chatty relatives, the coffee table and dancing relatives before they made it.

“There she is!” greeted Achilles the confused marketing manager.

Paris, Helen, Patroclus, Hermes and Achilles stood in a circle around a table. Dozens of shots of all sorts of colors were displayed. Annabeth had a terrible feeling about this.

“What is this and why are you pulling me into this?” Annabeth asked and did not like the mischievous grin they all shared. She wanted to go back home and cuddle with Daedalus on her sofa and push his cat ass out of the way before the next steamy Outlander scene hit the screen. Yes, Annabeth was that much of a single that seeing some on-screen action was the best she could get. She hoped that the mangy cat didn’t bother Thalia all too much while she was staying in Greece. She owed her so much already.

“Well, I stayed in your country,” Paris started. “And they have a weird tradition with ouzo. They don’t drink it the way we do, watered down and slowly at lunch and what not…”

Annabeth was still American for the most part and had nothing to do with Germany. The last time she stayed there was nearly thirteen years ago. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Germany. Friedrich Chase lived in Germany. And she fucking hated Friedrich Chase. Therefore, she hated Germany. Things that would never change. Okay, Hamburg was a cool city and she was glad her father moved to Cologne. Should she feel the urge to travel back to Germany for a week or less, she’d go to Hamburg, take ten thousand pictures, and post them on Instagram the minute before she was boarding her flight back to New York. Helping her to enrage her stupid father was all Germany had to offer.

“Germans do ouzo shots,” Patroclus cut to the chase. “And since you’re the newest member of our family…”

“And German!” Paris and Hermes added simultaneously.

“We’ve decided to play this little game,” Achilles added.

“What’s the name of the game?” Annabeth asked. She was only slightly curious. Emphasis on slightly.

“Last man standing. Oh sorry, ladies. Last person standing,” Hermes corrected himself as he placed four shots in front of each person. That was way too much hard liquor to handle. But if she did Jägermeister bombs in her sophomore year of college without any issues, this should be fairly easy.

“What are the rules?” They all looked at her in silence. No rules. No prize. Just drink.

“Oh wow.” The urge to roll her eyes and walk off came back with a force.

“I think I’m going to pass,” Annabeth said and already turned to her right.

“Why?” Helen asked innocently. “Need your man to look after you? The one who’s having an amazing time back there with his third glass of wine?”

Foul game. Annabeth’s head shot to the right. Helen was right. Percy was laughing and looked like he was having a great time chatting with Oceanus and his wife Tethys. Tethys refilled his glass as her husband and Percy broke into laughter once again.

If that’s the case…

“Fuck it, I’m in,” Annabeth agreed. She swallowed the bait and she knew it. There was no reason why she should feel upset about Percy opening up all of a sudden. He desperately needed it. Why she wished to be a part of that, Annabeth did not know.

“Great!” Helen threw her brown mane over her shoulders and grabbed the first glass.

“Για μας!” they all yelled and chugged the liquor. Gia mas, the Greek toast, was repeated every time and it seemed to brighten the mood, despite resting heavily on Annabeth’s stomach. Her college days were over, but she was glad she resisted coughing repeatedly.

Patroclus clutched his stomach after the second shot, Helen ran out after the third, Paris and Achilles were laughing maniacally after the fourth and Hermes mysteriously disappeared after the first one. Annabeth was the last person standing. She placed the crystalized shot glass back on the table and examined the messes around her. The only thing that had happened to her, were that more golden locks escaped from her bun and her lipstick needed some reapplying as she left marks on each glass.

Annabeth tried to take a step away from the table and felt how the world slightly shifted around her. The fact that she would curse and hate herself for her behavior in just six hours, was something drunk Annabeth gladly put aside. The headaches that definitely would haunt her for the rest of the trip didn’t matter, she won and that was all she cared about.

“Hell yeah!” she yelled as all inhibition faded away, leaving pure and raw life force behind. Unbeknownst to her, Annabeth had moved right into the circle of dancers.

“Perseus, get your bride before she breaks her legs!” someone laughed. Was it Iapetus? Or was it Hyperion? Who even cared at that point?

The next two hours were a blurred mess. A blackout slowly crept through her mind, leaving foggy memories behind. Annabeth felt how she was dancing with people and how people were laughing. Were they laughing at her or with her? Did it really matter? Why was her hair repeatedly slapping her face, didn’t she tie it up?

She danced with different people, men and women. She really hoped that the guy that looked like a naked Danny DeVito with longer black hair was not Zeus who had lost his shirt and pants. Who was the guy with the sea-green eyes again? Why was he clapping and laughing whenever she was busting a move next to Hermes? Was he important? Why did he remind her of work? The shots might have been a short-sighted idea after one and a half glasses of wine. She probably overestimated the amount of food she had consumed at dinner prior. Wasn’t she supposed to try someone’s moussaka?

“There you are! Ares, stop dancing with her for once. We’re about to leave.”

Ugh. Ares. Not Zeus, but still yucky.

Sea-green eyes. Percy, of course. How could she have forgotten the asshole that brought her into this whole mess? He seemed fairly sober, didn’t he have a glass or three of wine? Annabeth was certain, she’d be able to drink him under the table. His height and his build might put him at an advantage, but if he wasn’t used to drinking, she might have a fair shot.

A rock song was the next song that appeared. Percy wanted to drag Annabeth off the dance floor.

“Oh no!” Aphrodite intervened with a shrill screech. “Give the two lovers some room to show each other affection!”

Hera actually raised her glass for once to show that she actually agreed with one of Aphrodite’s wild ideas. Someone fumbled with the playlist and a Greek slow jam roared through the old speakers.

“Are you guys fucking serious?” Percy muttered under his breath. But roughly eighty pairs of eyes were all but watching the soon-to-be betrothed and waited for a romantic dance which reminded Percy more of the horrors that the eight-grade dance was.

Annabeth drunkenly hiccupped and looked at him in surprise as she felt one of his hands around her waist and the other one taking her hand. They rocked as if it was the final dance at prom. Annabeth barely remembered prom. Oh right. Her mother had forbidden her from going. She never attended prom.

A casual glimpse through the crowd showed her that people were actually filming this nonsense and some women were actually cooing. Did… did they seriously think this back and forth with sweaty clothes on was romantic? Her eyes found Percy’s again.

“So…” he began.

“So…” she repeated.

“Careful!” he warned her before twirling her through the tight circle. People screamed and applauded. A camera flash blitzed through the darkness twice.

“Oof,” Annabeth groaned. Her stomach and equilibrium did not appreciate that sudden movement.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again,” Percy swore. The rocking motion made both of them sleepy. Annabeth suppressed a yawn, rested her head on his shoulder. Percy could make the perfect comfy bed, if he wanted to.

Percy, sensing that people were awaiting some action from either of them, placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. Annabeth’s eyes widened. Is he going to kiss me in front of them? Again? her panicked brain asked. She was turned into stone, not by Percy’s distant cousin Medusa who had eaten most of the truffles, but by the tenderness of his actions. He was one solid actor.

Percy placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before moving on to a temple. Annabeth blushed and buried her heated face in his chest as he released her. Intimate, soft and sweet. The screaming relatives disrupted their comfortable silence yet again. The slow song came to an end and the next upbeat one invited everyone back to the dance floor. Annabeth released herself from Percy’s tight embrace and just bolted. Damned be nausea. A wave of coldness hit her. She felt something she didn’t like the minute Percy had softly kissed and soberness woke her at a start. What was it? Anger? Disappointment? Longing? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to know.

“Annabeth!” Percy shouted, but the amount of people standing in his way made it more difficult for him to keep up with her. His hand brushed over his own lips.

Annabeth opened and closed doors left and right. The kitchen, the dining room, the smoking room. She hasted through the first floor until she found another lost soul in the fireplace room. Why the villa had a fireplace room in the first place, she did not know. It had been super-hot the entire time but what Annabeth understood as heat and what native Greeks deemed as hot temperatures didn’t have to correlate.

Great-grandmother Gaia’s humming faded away. The eldest of the Theodoropoulos looked up from the pair of socks she was knitting. When she came to find out the intruder was Annabeth, joy spread over her face.

“Come, come!” The broken English that she softly spoke reminded Annabeth of her own grandmother. She hadn’t seen Elsbeth Lilienthal-Chase since she had left Germany. And since her mother didn’t give her a chance to say goodbye, she didn’t have a phone number to reach her with. The only way would be through that asshole Friedrich Chase, and the only time she’d willingly let someone contact that man was if she had been six feet under and he would be forced to show up for one important family event for once.

“I was unable to sleep. Parties aren’t something for me. I’m too old and boring for my children and their children,” Gaia sighed as Annabeth took a seat on the green sofa next to the light blue armchair. All of the cushioning seemed to have been made by Gaia as the socks had the same pattern as the pillow that Annabeth leaned against. Balls of wool surrounded the older woman as if she sat on a field of fresh tulips.

“Drink, drink! You need water. I’m pretty sure you danced a lot.”

Annabeth kindly took the offer, grabbed the carafe and poured herself a little bit of water into a small glass. The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing.

“My children deem me crazy,” Gaia continued. “The war with the ottomans. Deportation. Fleeing and seeing death everywhere. Losing my father in the chaos. Then the big world war after that twenty years later. They don’t want to listen to the same stories. They only want to have fun. So, they sent me away.”

Annabeth felt terrible for the old lady. It looked like she had been through hell and back in her youth. She didn’t look like she needed much, only someone to listen to her.

“I won’t bore you much,” promised Gaia.

Gaia’s tanned leathery hands continued working on the little socks. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, dearie. We have plenty of acetaminophen and other hangover remedies. Tomorrow will be even worse, because Dionysus wants to celebrate his birthday with even more wine,” the old woman laughed, and her green eyes twinkled full of life.

“I also was young once…”

The two sat in comfortable silence, only interrupted by Gaia’s humming or Annabeth refilling her glass of water.

“So,” Gaia began.

“So?” repeated Annabeth.

“You are the woman that tamed my little Perseus,” the older woman grinned.

Oh no.

Annabeth had a lump in her throat and drinking water to solve it, didn’t work. She wasn’t just lying to Zeus and his wife. She was lying to an entire clan, from the youngest to the oldest members. What Percy and she were doing wasn’t right, neither was it fair. Sure, Percy’s shitty uncle didn’t help much by forcing him to marry the next person, but did the rest of the family deserve to be deceived as well? No, they didn’t, and that truth rested heavily on Annabeth’s narrow shoulders.

The fact that Gaia looked so much like her great-grandson was crazy. They possessed the exact same shade of sea-green. It was passed onto Rhea, Percy’s grandmother, and then Poseidon, Percy’s fucked up father. Always full of intelligence and calculation. Shifting easily from delighted and full of life to the crashing anger of a storm. Power and knowledge were key features of Gaia’s eyes.

“How did you meet my sweet Perseus again?” Gaia innocently asked but Annabeth knew that there was some sort of ulterior motive behind her question.

“At work,” she honestly answered, and Gaia smiled. The old lady was able to sense the truth.

“He’s not my direct boss, but we run into each other a lot. And we hated each other from the moment we saw each other.” Annabeth remembered how she accidentally spilled her hot coffee all over his shirt. She had been public enemy number one from then on.

“He’s an excellent boss, as much as I hate to admit it. He knows his ways around and is passionate about the ocean and its inhabitants. Definitely more passionate than me, I’m just there for the money. He actually wants to make a difference. And he’s extremely annoying, might I add.”

Gaia burst into laughter and needed a minute to calm down. Annabeth cracked a toothy grin. “Ah yes, I can see how you fell in love with him.”

Doom. Uneasiness. Discomfort. The lump in Annabeth’s throat grew bigger and bigger. Why was her vision so blurry all of a sudden? She looked down at her dress. Dark dots appeared. More sprinkled across her lap as Annabeth realized she was crying.

“I’m so sorry,” Annabeth sniffled. “I… Percy… I…”

Gaia put her knitting utensils aside and set herself upright in the armchair. “Oh no, what is going on, Annabeth?”

The calming hand on her back did not help the young professional at all. No, Gaia’s honesty and curiosity made it way worse.

“Percy and I… we’re not engaged. We did it because Zeus-” Annabeth tried to confess, but Gaia brushed her off.

“It’s okay, Annabeth. I know,” the old woman smiled.

The tears that smeared her foundation or rather what was left of it ceased to fall. “You what?!”

Shock widened Annabeth’s light gray eyes.

“I knew from the minute you stepped into my house. I’m pretty sure Rhea knows as well.”

Annabeth’s jaw fell open. “B-but how?!” she stuttered and felt like an utter and complete idiot. The first few days had been rough and difficult, but now she thought that Percy and she conveyed the illusion of being a happy couple.

“You were scared of everything including him the minute you arrived,” Gaia warmly smiled. The infectious warm smile of a grandma looking out for her little chicks. Was Annabeth now one of them?

“I knew something was off with that sudden engagement of yours with the way you two behaved. Either you were pregnant, or it was a ruse. Since you are heavily drinking and paper thin, it was clear that there was no pregnancy. You young people truly don’t eat enough anymore,” Gaia shrugged, patted Annabeth’s knee and went back to knitting the sock.

“But now… it all makes sense. You do feel something for each other. Even if you are blind to it for now.” She continued to hum. “I just hope that my dear Perseus will be the young and carefree boy he was all those years ago one day again. And I do believe that you are the key in finding him hidden underneath all those layers and walls he had put up due to his father.”

Annabeth didn’t even close her mouth during the elder’s monologue. Did Gaia seriously connote that she… that Annabeth Chase… might feel something for her soon-to-be boss? Madness. Absolute madness. She took everything she had thought of the friendly old woman in front of her back. Maybe her relatives did have a point, when they decided to brush Gaia off due to her old age.

Annabeth? And feeling something for Percy? If that something was hatred and the utmost rage, absolutely yes. But… anything else? She would receive a hefty sum on her bank account and would put in her two weeks the minute she found a better job in California.

“You know… there is a tale I’d like to tell about men.”

And Annabeth would prefer to place the glass back on the table, throw the heels away, storm out and run to the next airport.

“They are stupid vapid creatures,” Gaia carried on.

Annabeth snorted behind her glass. “That is certainly true,” she agreed and earned an honest grin from Gaia.

“My dear husband Ouranos with whom I had all of my dear children decided one day that one woman was not enough. And that twelve children were not enough.”

Twelve children?! Annabeth's womb just twisted and turned in protest. The shocked expression on Annabeth’s face made Gaia chortle loudly.

“Oh yes, back in my day we were all very fruitful,” Gaia affirmed.

“That sounds horrible,” Annabeth interjected.

“Oh, only the birth part and the eighteen years after it,” the older woman dismissed her which made Annabeth in turn laugh again.

“My father was a farmer and he had one piece of advice: never let someone toy with you. You are not a doll; you are a person with morals and dignity, a person with feelings and dignity. Let no one, especially not a man, treat you like a commodity or something to kick around. Well… when dear Ouranos left me and sought our neighbor with bigger breasts… I taught him that lesson. And I did so with my father’s trusted knife that I hung on the wall afterwards.”

There was no knife displayed on the wall. It was a fucking scythe. Large, frightening, brutal. A golden great long sickle with jagged teeth rested on the wall as if it were ready to cut you up into one thousand pieces. Was there really dried blood stuck on the teeth or was Annabeth’s drunken mind making things up?

“The minute our youngest turned eighteen he took off and was never seen again. And now, should a person, in that case my Perseus, not know how to treat you properly, you know what to do,” Gaia advised and took a sip out of her own glass.

“Uh… you mean threaten to cut his genitals off with a large and sharp family heirloom?” Annabeth’s eyes widened again.

“No, dearie…” Gaia gave it some thought. “Well maybe so, dearie,” she then went on. That made Annabeth chuckle again.

“But demand absolute respect from him. Don’t ask him for it. Demand it. I don’t know how but he has dragged you into our family and expects you to play the perfect fiancé. This will eventually blow up in his face and he will drag you along with him. Teach him a lesson, however.”

“You know what? I will!” With Gaia’s official blessing, Annabeth was all smiles and scheming new plots. If the head of the family gave her the approval of kicking Percy’s ass, she definitely would.

Steps echoed in the fireplace room and Annabeth and Gaia’s heads turned to greet the intruder. They didn’t even realize the door opened and closed again.

Gaia’s younger twin who still had some black streaks in the braids marched into the hall, curious about what the two women in front of her were previously talking about. Gaia’s youngest daughter Rhea had joined them. The large blue floral dress made her seem like she never left the late 1960s and the two long braids only added to that sentiment.

“Mamá, what is going on? By the way Percy is looking for you, Annabeth,” Rhea informed her grandson’s alleged fiancé before taking a seat in front of her and grabbing one of the many balls of yarn in front of her mother. Rhea then went on to play with it as if she was a six-year old.

“Oh no, Rhea, Annabeth and I were just chatting about love and life,” Gaia batted her eyelashes.

“You see, I gave Rhea the same advice about her disgraceful husband when he went out to seek another woman.”

Rhea rolled her eyes behind the large pentagonally glasses. “You and your stories about the scythe, mother,” she sighed.

“I have to make sure the younger generation knows!” Gaia huffed. “I won’t be here for much longer and then-”

“We'll regret all the things we’ve said and done to you, I know mamá, you have been telling me this since I was four years old and spilled my apple juice,” Rhea completed her mother’s sentence.

Rhea’s attention shifted to the smiling blonde in front of her. She grew to like Percy’s fiancé. She had a fire within herself and a backbone, all great things to handle a Theodoropoulos man.

“But my mother is right when she says that the scythe is a trusted tool. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades did scare Kronos with it after he tried some foul things with their sisters. Treated them worse. Did overall horrible things. He never wanted daughters, only sons. Didn’t seem to accept the fact that it was out of my hand.” Rhea squished the ball of light blue yarn in her hand.

“My children were always looking out for me and I will be forever grateful for them. I do hope that you will have the same feelings and love for your children.” It was clear who their father was supposed to be.

“Yes, I hope so as well,” Annabeth squeaked. Did it get hotter in here all of a sudden?

The door opened, and a worried Percy stepped into the fireplace room. “Oh, there you are,” he sighed as he immediately sighted Annabeth’s blonde unruly curls. He had been running from the basement all the way to the roof searching for her. Relief washed over his face like some shower gel from a cheap commercial. Only then did he realize that Annabeth had been cornered by both his nosy grandmother and his even nosier great-grandmother.

“Whatever they’ve been telling you, it’s a lie, it’s wrong and it never happened!” he warned her as he took a seat right next to her.

“Oh please, relax,” Rhea rolled her eyes and threw the wool at her grandson. “We have been talking about mamá’s scythe.”

“Hey!” both Percy and Gaia complained. At least they hadn’t dished out embarrassing stories of him taking off in diapers at night.

“This is expensive! You young people show no respect towards others' belongings,” Gaia cursed.

Annabeth took the blue yarn and placed it back on top of the pyramid of other colors.

“Thank you!” Gaia smiled before she focused on finishing the sock.

“You’ve found your fiancé, Perseus. Now go off back to celebrate and let us old people reminisce about the past and talk.” Rhea lazily waved at them whilst Gaia didn’t even look up from her craft.

“We will,” Percy said while getting up and casually dragging Annabeth along. He kissed both Gaia and Rhea on the cheek, Annabeth threw a hasty “See you in the morning!” over her shoulder before the couple left.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked as he pulled Annabeth aside for a small breather.

She nodded. “It’s just a bit overwhelming with the amount of people that either want to take pictures of us, hope I remember when their youngest kid’s birthday is, or they tell me they hope we have our first baby preferably in less than a year.”

Percy blushed. He didn’t think it was that bad, but then again, men are mostly left out of the baby talk until their mother’s saw that their best friend’s children had their first grandbaby. He truly didn’t have any intention of having a child before the age of forty. He had to save a business from his damned uncle, run and manage said business and preferably find a woman he tolerated enough to marry before he could even think of children.

Percy apologized again. “One week,” he promised her.

“One week,” Annabeth repeated and nodded.

“We’re going in, you’ve missed the high of the party with your talk with my yai yai, but that’s perfectly fine. The first have already left, let’s just mingle for ten minutes or so before we can-”

The door flung open. “There they are!” yelled Hermes who was followed by Zephyrus and Hercules.

None of them had any intention of letting the party stop before five in the morning. It was merely two. The minute Hermes had his sights on Annabeth, he knew that he had found his best drinking buddy aside from Dionysus himself. Oh no, Annabeth thought and rightfully so.

The minutes of calmness and rest next to Gaia did their wonders because Percy and she were thrust back into the party at full force. She didn’t exactly remember when the blackout happened, but it was roughly thirty minutes later. She was drinking, she was dancing, she was completely making a fool out of herself. The hair? A mess. Annabeth herself? Don’t even think about it. She had been dancing with Hermes and Patroclus, Aphrodite accidentally stepped on her foot one time when Ares approached her.

Percy broke his own promise and accepted a fourth glass of wine from Dionysus who insisted on it. That glass was his doom. The last droplet touched his tongue and his world turned into a flashy mist, his consciousness was broken into pieces, fragmented and sprinkled across the floor. Where he was, when he was and who he was were things he couldn’t remember. The only thing that popped up in his mind were waves of solid gold. Was it hair? Could hair truly move like that and possess that texture? And a whiff of lemon with a hint of lavender crawled up his nose. It was an odd combination, but it felt safe and like home. He liked this smell. Where did he smell this before?

Percy didn’t care, he had other matters to attend to. The first thing on the docket was finding the bathroom, he had drunk way too much. The house had weird rules in regard to bathrooms. Was it the left side or the right side that the young men could use? Why did his uncle Hades have to break two sinks in a span of a week when he was sixteen again? Why were women and others allowed to do whatever they wanted? His great-grandma and her weird plans were always set to make him fail somehow. Things that she had thought of decades ago still bore fruit today.

Percy stumbled upstairs and turned right and prayed the doors he was opening were empty bathrooms and not relatives making out. That was just what he needed. The first door he opened was of his great-uncle Oceanus and Tethys who had a face mask on her face and pink curlers up her hair. At least the old people still knew how to behave. He hoped his mother had left the party hours ago. He apologized and closed the door. The next one was an empty bedroom, his even maybe. No, his bedroom was on an entirely different floor. Or was it?

The next bedroom was closed off thank god, but from the sounds on the inside it seemed like cousin Eos and her newest catch Orion had some fun. Disgusting, Percy thought before he moved on. The next door was what he was looking for. A bathroom. Lit up, clean and empty. Empty if it wasn’t for this one woman who was clutching the brims of the polished sink. She was tall, the golden hair equaled a rat nest and her red dress seemed to have witnessed a lot.

“Ugh,” she muttered and looked into the mirror. Her eyes found his immediately.

“Percy?” she turned around.

Oh right. He was Percy Jackson, thirty-one, single, hopefully the new CEO of Atlantic INC., he had a fantastic apartment in the Upper East Side with an amazing view and he was in Greece to impress his family with his fake fiancé in order to secure his father’s legacy. His fake fiancé being Annabeth Chase, a woman he loathed, had to pay a little hush money and hoped would leave the company fairly soon after.

“You’re in the men’s restroom,” Percy then stated.

Annabeth looked around. No, it was not the same bathroom she used in the morning. Oh yeah, Gaia’s weird bathroom rules.

“Honestly who cares?” the junior marketing manager complained. “A toilet’s a toilet, no matter who uses it.”

Percy shrugged. Annabeth had a point but it wasn’t their house so they couldn’t dictate the rules.

“I wanted to retouch my makeup, but I didn’t find my makeup bag.” She walked steadily to Percy, but it was clear to both of them that she had her fair amount of shots in her system.

“Yeah, it’s probably in the other bathroom. Wait, let me use the bathroom for a second and then we can head back to our room and you can look for your makeup.”

Annabeth nodded and waited on the outside while Percy was tending his business. After drying his hands, he opened the door and found Annabeth yawning in front of one of his yai yai’s paintings. It showed the scythe from the fireplace.

“In all honesty, your great-grandmother is an amazing woman. I admire her. Showing kindness and strength each day. How old is she?”

“Turning 106 next October,” Percy smiled at her. “She always said she wanted to live long enough to see her favorite descendants find their own happiness, whatever it may be.”

The softness in his voice made Annabeth’s heart ache. She turned her head back to the painting. She was a nobody. She had no family, no traditions she could upkeep. She didn’t even have a steady relationship in the past five years. Fucking Luke Castellan. He also had to take that from her as well. Make her suffer. That’s what Athena, Friedrich and Luke all thought at the same time. And they all had nearly reached their wicked goal if it hadn’t been for her stubbornness and will to eventually blossom into something else. The first step towards that something else resided within her move to California. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life, somewhere where no one knew her.

A thumb brushed over her cheek. Annabeth looked up to Percy. She hadn’t even realized she was sobbing again.

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” Percy assured her. His hands found her sides, pulling her into a soft hug.

A true fiancé level hug. Annabeth had never felt that comfortable within a man’s reach. Percy might have been an awful and annoying coworker, but he truly cared about his fellow people. The way they slowly rocked and kept hugging each other reminded her of the school dance work they had put on the floor earlier. But this time it was real. This time there was no one taking pictures or yelling into their ears, or the demand to see a kiss.

Annabeth rested her face in his chest and Percy leaned his head on hers. It was like they had been made for each other. A welcoming scent greeted Percy. Lemon and lavender. The person stuck in Percy’s crumbled mind had been Annabeth. She was his anchor in the havoc his relatives had created in such a short time. He took a deeper breath. It felt reassuring.

“Did you just sniff me?” Annabeth laughed as she pulled away from him.

“You do smell good!” he defended himself with a stupid grin on his mouth.

“Oh, wait you’re super drunk,” she giggled again as she saw his widened pupils that had pushed the darkened sea-green iris away.

“Well, look at you,” he retorted.

They looked at each other. Aside from the bumping music and the noises people made downstairs it had been completely silent. He missed her warmth; she missed his comfort. Neither would have guessed that a simple embrace could offer so much. Neither would have thought they would take it to the next step within a split second.

One last look. A last time sea-green and light-gray met before each set of eyes closed and their lips met with a brutal force in the middle. Their teeth clacked but it didn’t matter to them. What mattered now, was the moment. Forgotten was the alcohol, forgotten were the troubles of past, present and future. Forgotten were the friends and relatives in the building and back in New York.

So... what do you think? 😄 Like I said, this is not the entire chapter 🤷🏾‍♀️ I honestly feel bad for cutting the chapter off because it's really getting more interesting from that point on 💁🏾‍♀️ I'll probably continue working on this once I've published the next act of The Fool 🥳

Also Greek people, if something seems off with this (aside from random English at times lol) hit me up, I definitely have to do more research!

[kitebird-hockey]

Okay! This list got a little out of hand, whoops. Pick whatever sounds fun to you. I tried to include fics featuring a number of popular tropes and from several different "eras." Feel free to ask follow-up questions (or run away in terror).

"die verwandlung" by astronicht 10k. Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuk

The ratification, a brief Californication, and the post-post friendship tour of Matthew Tkachuk. Or, Leon Draisaitl's ongoing adventures with North American fauna.

This fic is an excellent example of one of hockey rpf fandom's favorite tropes: animal transformation. It's also an excellent example of MattDrai, a very popular enemies-to-lovers pairing!

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"Wins Above Replacement" by bossyicynerd 22k. Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick

The author calls this "a love letter to hockey fandom." It's an AU where Nolan is not a player, but instead writes for "the fourth most popular [team] blog" while working a shitty retail job and carrying on an online correspondence with some anonymous guy with lots of hockey opinions...

Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick was a huge, if brief, pairing on the hockey rpf scene circa 2020, 2021. This fic is a good introduction to both those characters and to the fandom.

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"Friday Night Arrives Without A Suitcase" by marycontraire 15k. Danny Brière/Claude Giroux.

Once upon a time (like 2011) Danny and Claude played for the Flyers together. Danny got divorced and immediately invited Claude to move in with him. Claude moved in with him, helped co-parent his kids, and they sent out a Christmas card "from the Briouxs." When a lockout happened, they played hockey in Berlin together. This fic is about that time in Berlin together. It's a classic pairing with lots of domesticity and kidfic. This one is a reverse!curtain fic, kind of?

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time for the inhuman race by wrishwrosh 5k. Erik Johnson/Nathan MacKinnon

Josty matches with a vamp on Tinder, and it's all downhill from there. Vignettes in the life of Nate Dogg, accidental vampire interviewer.

This fic is so dear to me. Hilarious and a pitch-perfect Colorado Avalanche ensemble from the era of that team that is beloved to me. Incredible worldbuilding here for a fic where the author's note says "dumb immortality jokes ONLY. NO vampire worldbuilding and NO deep questions about the nature of eternity."

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Closed Fracture by lightgetsin 6k. Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin

"You're on Puck Daddy," Taylor said, instead of a greeting. Sidney sank back into the pillows. "So? What's new?" "The headline is 'Best Hockey Player in the World Sidney Crosby Taken Out by Eight Year Old, Breaks Arm in Mite Hockey Game.'"

Sid and Geno are one of the juggernaut pairings of this fandom. They've been playing together for almost 20 years! There are, to some extent, two phases of fic about them: earlier (late 2000s-mid 2010s) and recent (mid-late 2010s onwards). I admit my favorite examples of early-career fic for them are all way, way over 10 to 15k. ("and never been kissed" is a fandom classic for a reason, but it's like 200k, lol.) This is a cute fic and a good example of early Sid/Geno fic dynamics.

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"Flip Shut, Hang Up" by thehoyden, twentysomething 4k. Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin.

By the fourth time Crosby has hung up on him, Alex has to admit that this has gone from funny to, frankly, a little hurtful.

This is another great example of early Sid/Geno fic (featuring interfering Russians, another popular trope). It's set during the last lockout, during which Crosby was part of the team of players negotiating with league management and Geno was playing in Russia. "Zhenya" is also Geno. The Alex/Sasha in this fic is Alex Ovechkin, star player on a rival team.

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"here comes the spark" by saysthemagpie 22k. Sidney Crosby/Anna Kasterova/Evgeni Malkin

Sid had typed out multiple texts in those first few agonizing weeks, but nothing looked right. Sorry I slept with your wife. Sorry I did it while you watched—I thought, for some reason, that was what you both wanted.

This is a great fic full of feelings! Friends-to-lovers with an OT3 endgame. It packs so much into 22k. It's also an excellent example of later-career Sid/Geno fic!

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"A Case Study in Non-Traditional Pack Dynamics" by 7iris 7k. Carey Price/PK Subban.

"Well, you're going to have to bring him along anyway," Kayla says. "Bring me where?" PK asks, flipping his menu open. "The Greater Pacific Northwest Werewolf Symposium," Kayla says. "Duh."

I had to put at least ONE Carey/PK fic on this list. They LOVE each other okay and I'm still not over them both retiring. This fic is a canon-plus-werewolves fic and uses a lot of tropes from Teen Wolf fic, so it should feel familiar! It's a great fake-dating story.

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"You So Quite New" by knight_tracer, thefourthvine 27k. Paul Kariya/Teemu Selänne/Sirpa Selänne.

This fic is a fae!AU that is, in large part, about disability. Some years after Paul retired from hockey due to complications from repeated concussions, Paul and Teemu have to swap bodies.

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"Hockey at the End of the World" by ionthesparrow 25k. Jeff Carter/Mike Richards

Dystopian AU featuring plenty of even-more-violent-than-irl hockey. The Ballad of Carts and Richie (actual words a newspaper used once) is one of the greatest bromances of hockeydom, and this fic is one of the best written for them. I feel the word "gripping" is overused but I can't think of any other way to describe this fic!

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"catch and release" by lagyeggplant. 14k. Mathew Barzal/Anthony Beauvillier

Tagged "the mortifying ordeal of your best bro seeing your nudes." Ladyegg writes spectacular fic and does the best bro voice I've ever come across. Incredible, hilarious sports bro narrative voice every time (along with hot smut).

What kind of hockey fic are you looking for? Short, long? Is explicit a problem? Are you into enemies to lovers or domesticity or animal transformation or werewolves or do you want something completely off the wall bonkers?

Truth be told. Im not a hockey watcher and don't really know much about the players or teams or anything but I've heard how amazing the fic is and I do want to start watch hockey next season so something that is a good intro maybe?

Explicit is fine with me, I do enjoy it but its also fine if it doesn't have smut. For length I would say no more than like 10k to 15k or several shorter fics that total that?

I love all the tropes. I don't have any squicks or triggers but I think since I don't know the lore something canon or hockey related would be good to start with but I trust your judgement on that because I love a good au as much as the next person

My fic reading history for context is (in no particular order) teen wolf, supernatural, one direction, patd, 5sos, and currently men's soccer rpf

So do with that what you will.

Thank you so much for answering me!! I'm so thrilled that you did! ☺️🫶